“It’s really to showcase not just sportsmanship, the athletic skills of the youth, but to highlight the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) as not just a military training, but as a pathway to patriotism.”

This was stressed by Senator Francis Tolentino, a brainchild of the Philippine ROTC Games, during the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the City Government of Bacolod led by Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, and Raul Alvarez, Jr., director of Commission on Higher Education (CHED)-Region 6, at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) on Monday, May 6.

The MOA was also signed by Major General Elpidio Talja, commander of the Philippine Air Force Reserve Command, and Norberto Mangulabnan, president of Carlos Hilado Memorial State University.

The 2nd year of the Philippine ROTC Games with the Visayas Regional Qualifying Leg will be hosted by Bacolod City from May 26 to June 1, 2024, with the theme “ Husay ng ROTC, Husay ng Kabataan.”

The event, which will be composed of 14 sports, will be held at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City.

“We want in the near future to have national athletes coming from the ROTC. It’s a national sports competition involving college students,” Tolentino said.

He said the games include arnis, athletics, boxing, chess, e-sports, sepak takraw, taekwondo, table tennis, volleyball, basketball, target shooting, raiders competition, and Miss ROTC.

Moreover, due to the high heat index, Talja said the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) was tasked with the schedule of the games and they also know the capability and experiences about the conducting of sports.

“They will adjust accordingly, and some of the sports will be conducted inside the malls and the universities to ensure the health of the athletes,” he said.

For his part, Benitez said for the past couple and months, Bacolod has been a destination of a lot of events and surprisingly, a lot of organizers responded favorably to hold their events in the city.

“It’s because we have a very good food and very generous local government unit (LGU),” he said.

He added the city will surely be buzzing with sporting action and thrills.

The city also allotted at least P5 million including the renovation of the Bacolod City College (BCC) to accommodate the athletes.

After the Visayas Leg, the Mindanao Leg will be held on June 23 to 29 in Zamboanga City, the Luzon Leg on July 28 to August 3 will be held in Indang, Cavite, and the national championship will be on August 18 to 24 in Indang Cavite.*

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