CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) opened the face-to-face annual inter-service sporting event on Friday, September 30 after it was postponed due to the COVID19 pandemic.
Athletes from the AFP, PNP, and PCG gathered at the 2022 AFP-PNP-PCG Olympics opening ceremony held at the Lapu-Lapu Grandstand in Camp Aguinaldo.
The opening ceremony was presided over by Atty. Juan Victor Llamas, Undersecretary for External and Legislative Affairs of the Department of Interior and Local Government together with the Acting AFP Vice Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Rommel Anthony SD Reyes.
The revival of the annual prestigious event seeks to promote sports and encourage uniformed personnel to continue and sustain their passion for sports despite the challenges inherent to their jobs and the adverse effect of the pandemic.
The Olympics will also serve as a venue to identify potential world-class athletes who can represent the Philippines in future international competitions.
The AFP through the Office of the Special Service under the able leadership of Col. Ruben Guinolbay will facilitate the events in various sports facilities within Metro Manila. It will ensure that health and safety protocols shall be strictly observed during the entire duration of the competition starting on October 3 and will culminate on October 21, 2022.
The events include Badminton, Basketball, Cycling, Football, Golf, Karatedo, Marathon, Table Tennis, Lawn Tennis, Taekwondo, Volleyball, and Chess, among others.
The AFP continues to hold activities that would inspire soldiers and civilian human resources to be more active in sports. Among these efforts is a continuing program of enlistment which enable athletes to join the military ranks to have better access to training facilities.
As of August 2022, there are 149 military athletes, of which 39 are from the Philippine Army, 66 from the Philippine Air Force, and 44 from the Philippine Navy who compete in various sports events and continue to give honor to the country. The most prominent is Hidilyn Diaz an Air Force Staff Sergeant who won the first Olympic gold medal for the Philippines in 2020. ///
(Photo by SN1 Donald Viluan PN/PAOAFP)
