Daily Archives: March 21, 2019

The University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) bested twelve other colleges and universities in Metro Manila that offer Army ROTC, in a competition held from February to March of this year and organized by the National Capital Region Regional Community Defense Group (NCRRCDG), Army Reserve Command (ARESCOM), Philippine Army.   “RAATInTo!” was the battle cry of the cadets – students enrolled in ROTC – taken from UP’s own #AtinTo and the title of the competition RAATI (Regional Annual Administrative and Tactical Inspection). For several years that the RAATI was conducted, UPD ROTC always held the top position. However, in the last four years, the championship trophy was held by other schools. The weeks of rigorous training of the cadets with their cadet officers have assured the university its victory. “Each and every cadet and cadet officer put their minds on what they need to perform. We are among a few schools that prepared late for this competition,” said Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Bing Bong Salinas, Corps Commander of UPD ROTC referring to the opening of classes in UP only in August, two months later than most other schools that start training in June. “Our success can also be attributed to the support of our Corps of Sponsors who cheered us on every training day, our parents who let us stay late and spend weekends training, and the university through the Department of Military Science and Tactics.” Aside from the top spot, the UPD ROTC also received several awards. Among which are Best in OPORD Writing, Best in Methods of Instruction, Best in First Aid, and Best in IED Identification. OPORD writing is a skill taught to cadet officers to allow them to write a comprehensive yet clear and concise operation orders. Methods of instruction tests the teaching capability of cadet officers as they transfer knowledge and skills to their cadets. First aid competition tests the unit’s capability to respond to any given incident. IED or improvised explosive device identification tests the ability of cadets to show common IEDs used by terrorist and lawless groups. “UP ROTC is […]