AFTER seven years, the UST Golden Corps of Cadets was again hailed as the best Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) unit and overall champion in the National Capital Region during the 2025 Regional Annual Administrative Tactical Inspection (RAATI).
The ROTC unit earned an overall score of 92.54% to clinch its fourth championship in the annual corps competition hosted by the Philippine Army.
“We give this credit much to the students of UST ROTC,” Col. Aldrin Orejudos, the Thomasian cadets’ commandant, told the Varsitarian. “It was a good outcome. UST became No. 1 after seven years.”
Tactical training officer Lt. Robert Montaña hoped the win would remove the stigma tied to ROTC in UST.
“Our championship in the RAATI shows how different ROTC [is now] compared with the ‘90s when there was stigma due to the case of the late Mark Chua. So it’s very different now,” Montaña said.
“Maayos na ‘yong pamamalakad niya at maraming values talaga makukuha ang mga students ngayon [in the way] by which ROTC is being conducted,” he added.
Montaña was referring to Mark Welson Chua, the mechanical engineering student who was killed in 2001 after exposing the UST unit’s irregularities to the Varsitarian. His death prompted the passage of the National Service Training Program, which made ROTC voluntary.
With the RAATI distinction, Master Sgt. Caesar Estrada said the unit plans to increase civil-military operations and off-campus activities, including disaster response and outreach programs, to maintain their performance.
“Outside campus ang aming priority ngayon para ‘yong estudyante naman makita na ang ROTC is not only confined dito sa UST,” he said. “Since nag-champion na tayo, ang challenge ngayon is to do our best para ma-surpass ito.”
The RAATI is an annual performance evaluation conducted by the Philippine Army to assess the overall caliber of ROTC units across the region based on their tactical proficiency and operational readiness.
The competition was held on May 11, followed by the awards ceremony on June 29 at Fort Santiago. Micah G. Pascua
