Manila, Feb. 19 -- The Philippine Army (PA) on Wednesday announced that it would beef up its reserve force and develop the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) with the assistance of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP).

The PA and ULAP signed on Tuesday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on "reserve force and ROTC development" at Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, PA spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala said in a statement.

Under the agreement, ULAP will promote local government units' (LGU) involvement in strengthening the PA reserve force by supporting reserve companies and the Army's ROTC programs.

Local government leaders will also help establish provincial mobilization centers to better coordinat...