MANILA - Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. will be the guest of honor for the expanded second edition of the Philippine Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Games, which kicks off on Sunday with the Visayan qualifying leg at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City.
According to Philippines News Agency, other invited dignitaries include Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Lacson, Bacolod City Mayor and Philippine Badminton Association president Albee Benitez, Defense Undersecretary Pablo Lorenzo, Commission on Higher Education Executive Director Cinderella Filipina Benitez-Jaro, and Commissioner Olivia "Bong" Coo, representing Philippine Sports Commission chairperson Richard Bachmann.
Dr. Norberto Mangulabnan, president of the Carlos Hilado Memorial State University, will deliver the welcome remarks. The Philippine ROTC Games were conceived by Senator Francis Tolentino, an Army Brigade commander in the 1501st Ready Reserve Brigade. School cadets from the Philippine Army, Air Force, and Navy will compete in various sports, including swimming, raiders competition, obstacle course race, target shooting, basketball, athletics, arnis, boxing, chess, esports, kickboxing, sepak takraw, table tennis, taekwondo, and volleyball.
The tournament will start on Monday with the swimming event at the Victorias City Aquatic Center. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is a strong advocate for restoring the ROTC program as part of the regular academic curriculum. In his inaugural State of the Nation Address two years ago, Marcos stated, "The aim is to train, motivate, organize, and mobilize students for national defense preparedness, including disaster preparedness and capacity building for risk-related situations." Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairperson of the Ways and Means Committee, co-authored Senate Bill 2034, or the ROTC Act, which aims to institutionalize mandatory basic ROTC training in higher education and technical vocational institutions.