Day 133 of 135

Day 133: Live Debate on Mandatory ROTC

On a public affairs livestream in Quezon City about reviving mandatory ROTC for college students, Lola Asuncion (A), a retired teacher, gives the opening statement before host Ricky (B) turns to the young panelists: Macky (C), a student council president against the plan, and Leandro (D), a cadet officer for it.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Tagalog. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day

  1. A

    Magandang gabi. Noong dekada sisenta, nag-ROTC ang dalawa kong kuya: ang isa'y natutong magmartsa, ang isa nama'y natutong lumusot sa martsa.

    Good evening. In the sixties, my two older brothers did ROTC: one learned to march, and the other learned to wriggle out of marching.

  2. B

    Salamat po, Ma'am Asuncion. Macky, ano po ang paninindigan ng student council?

    Thank you, Ma'am Asuncion. Macky, what is the student council's position?

  3. C

    Hindi po kami against sa disiplina, Sir. Ang ayaw po namin, 'yung sapilitan, lalo na't may history ng abuso.

    We're not against discipline, Sir. What we don't want is having it forced on us, especially with the history of abuse.

  4. D

    Pare, may anti-hazing law na. Sir, disaster response at first aid po ang tinuturo, at may TikTok pa po ang unit namin.

    Bro, there's an anti-hazing law now. Sir, what they teach is disaster response and first aid, and our unit even has a TikTok.

  5. A

    May TikTok. Noong panahon namin, iho, disiplina ang tawag diyan, hindi content.

    A TikTok. In our day, iho, we called that discipline, not content.

  6. B

    Ma'am, kung gayon po, pabor po ba kayo sa mandatory ROTC?

    Ma'am, in that case, are you in favor of mandatory ROTC?

  7. A

    Hindi ko sinabi iyan, iho. Ang kuya ko, natutong gumising nang alas-singko, at hanggang ngayon, ginigising niya ang buong kalye.

    I didn't say that, iho. My brother learned to wake up at five, and to this day he wakes up the whole street.

  8. C

    Valid po 'yan, Ma'am, pero sana po, choice. Kung gusto ni Leandro, go lang; huwag lang po sanang sapilitan.

    That's valid, Ma'am, but it should be a choice. If Leandro wants it, go for it; just don't force it on everyone.

  9. D

    Kung choice, walang pupunta. Ako nga po, pinilit lang ng tatay ko, pero cadet officer na po ako ngayon.

    If it's a choice, nobody will sign up. Even I was only pushed into it by my dad, and now I'm a cadet officer.

  10. B

    Ma'am Asuncion, kayo po ang may huling salita. Saang panig po ba talaga kayo?

    Ma'am Asuncion, you have the last word. Which side are you really on?

  11. A

    Narinig ninyo ang dalawang ito: ang isa'y pinilit at natuto, ang isa nama'y ayaw mapilit at nag-iisip. Iyan ang mamamayang hinahanap ko, may uniporme man o wala.

    You heard these two: one was pushed and learned, the other refuses to be pushed and thinks. That's the citizen I'm looking for, uniform or no uniform.

  12. C

    Ma'am, puwede po ba naming i-clip 'yan para sa page ng council? Siguradong viral po, content na content.

    Ma'am, can we clip that for the council's page? It's going to go viral, pure content.

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