HUNDREDS of gun enthusiasts trooped to San Simon for the "Second Secretary of National Defense Cup" held at Tyro Sorta Shooting Range over the weekend.
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana personally led the kick-off ceremony of the shoot-for-a-cause event through a ceremonial gunshot on Friday morning, January 17.
The three-day sports activity is aimed at raising funds for the children of Filipino soldiers who died in line with their duties.
Lorenzana said proceeds from the event will go directly to the scholarship grants of fallen soldiers' children, whom the agency supports from elementary up to tertiary education.
"Our soldiers have sacrificed their lives for our country and it is only right that we assist their loved ones in our own little ways. In this case, we were able to enjoy our chosen sports and also help the families of our fallen heroes," he said.
Aside from fallen heroes' kids, Lorenzana said part of the proceeds will also be donated to the communities that were affected by the eruption of Taal volcano.
"Our fellow Filipinos in Batangas are in need of assistance so we thought it is only right to allocate some of the funds raised to purchase the necessities of people in evacuation," he said.
Aside from participating in the gun cup, Mayor Abundio Punsalan Jr. also donated P100,000 to help in the cause of the event.
Punsalan, a son of a World War II veteran, said he was also once a beneficiary of the scholarship grant of DND, and it is now his turn to pay it forward.
"I finished my studies through the help of scholarship grants from the DND and now that I am a little capable, I believe that it is only fitting to also help my fellow children of former soldiers," he said.
Punsalan, meanwhile, expressed gratitude to Lorenzana for choosing San Simon as a venue of his shoot-for-a-cause.
He said the activity is a boost to the sports tourism program of the municipality, which seeks to promote San Simon as a venue for various tourism events.