SENATOR Francis Tolentino confirmed Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte will grace the Mindanao regional leg of the ongoing 2023 Philippine ROTC Games.

Tolentino, honorary chairman of the meet, said the Vice President will be the event’s guest of honor and speaker during the opening of the tournament’s Mindanao leg, which kicks off from August 27-September 2.

Tolentino stressed the presence of Duterte is a big boost in raising awareness for the tournament, considering she’s the incumbent education secretary and an active colonel in the military reserve force.

The upcoming Mindanao leg of the PRG comes a week after the successful hosting of the inaugural regional tournament in Iloilo City, which featured cadet athletes from various provinces in the Visayas in different sports such as track and field, basketball, kickboxing, boxing, arnis, and volleyball.

The senator added the lessons learned in the tournament in Iloilo City serves as guide and benchmark for the organizers in the upcoming tournaments.

The Mindanao regional games will be followed by the Luzon leg to be held in Tagaytay City from September 17-23.

The cities of Manila and Pasig will host the National Capital Region leg from October 8-14 as well as the National Championships from October 22-27.

The PRG spearheaded by Tolentino, aims to promote the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps or ROTC by specifically encouraging the development of grassroots sports programs, training young athletes for international competitions, promoting physical education, and fostering self-discipline, teamwork and excellence.

It Involves the ROTC units of the main service branches of the Armed Forces of the Philippines -Army, Air Force, and Navy.