BACOLOD – The 2nd Philippine Reserve Officers Training Corps Games Visayan qualifying leg gets into full swing on Monday, May 27, with swimming and raiders competition events making their debut in the meet for sports-inclined school cadets in separate venues here.

A must skill for every able-bodied soldier, swimming will have final events in the men’s and women’s division at the Victorias City Aquatic Center in the neighboring Victorias City, a 30-minute drive north of the Negros Occidental capital. 

Events on tap are 200-meter individual medley, 100-meter freestyle, 50-meter butterfly, 50-meter backstroke and 200-meter breaststroke in the competition backed by the Department of National Defense, Commissioner on Higher Education, and the Philippine Sports Commission. 

Making its maiden appearance at the Carlos Hilado Memorial State University campus grounds is the raiders competition, an obstacle course-like race, which is familiar to those who undergo boot camp training by Army, Air Force and Navy recruits and enlisted personnel.

Aside from the two debuting disciplines, also scheduled are taekwondo, boxing and sepak takraw, table tennis and taekwondo in the meet also supported by the Negros Occidental provincial government led by Gov. Eugenio Lacson and the Bacolod City government of Mayor Albee Benitez.   

During the colorful opening ceremony held Sunday at the Panaad Sports Complex and Park, CHED Executive Director Atty. Cinderella Filipina Benitez-Jaro noted the growing support for the Philippine ROTC Games that drew nearly 2,000 athletes from the three major military services. 

“From seven sports we now have 14 disciplines and while from 700 athletes in the Visayan leg last year, we have close to 2,000 athletes, a sign of the growing popularity and interest in the Philippine ROTC Games,” Jaro pointed out. 

“We were also able to enlist 86 colleges and universities, or higher education institutions, in deploying cadets to compete in our meet,” she added in front of the assembly early Sunday morning       

“More memories and more victories are going to be written as we open the second season of the Philippine ROTC Games in Bacolod City,” said Commissioner Bong Coo, who represented PSC Chairman Richard Bachmann, at the occasion.  

“I am excited to see more legacies of ROTC Games being contributed to the success of Philippine sports,” Coo, a bowling legend, said of the competition hosted by CHMSU led by CMHSU President Dr. Norberto Mangulabnan.    

“The ROTC helps instill discipline and commitment to the youth in and out of the competition venue. They are our frontline in establishing an efficient and effective community,” she stressed. 

Beaming with pride at his brainchild, Sen. Francis Tolentino noted that the student cadets taking part in the ROTC Games were like passengers aboard a ship reflecting “respect and patriotism.”

“The Philippine ROTC Games is not merely a showcase of athletic prowess it a celebration of discipline, unity, and the spirit of patriotism through the veins of our (participating) youth. Ang ipakikita ninyo rito ay nagpapakita ng pagmamahal sa bayan na dumadaloy sa ugat ng bawat Pilipino,” the senator said. 

Now the newly-installed Senate Majority Leader, Tolentino likewise formally declared the Games open.