BACOLOD City – The P12.5-million athletes’ dormitory inside the Romanito P. Maravilla Sr. National High School (RMNHS) in Barangay Estefania here was inaugurated on Monday, March 24.
This milestone marks a significant step in the city’s commitment to sports development and youth empowerment.
The dormitory has two separate bedrooms to accommodate 32 athletes — 16 boys and 16 girls — each with individual beds and cabinets. Amenities include a dining and cooking area, dedicated comfort rooms, an office, and a stock room.
The construction of the dormitory was funded by the city’s Special Education Fund.
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who led the inauguration, called the dormitory a “home for champions.”
RMNHS is recognized for having the most number of successful athletes who had brought pride and honor to the city by winning gold, silver and bronze medals in different sports competitions.
“Our athletes bring honor to our city so we should give them decent living quarters so that they also have something to look forward to. We need to help them to improve their living conditions while they undergo training so that we can continue gaining more medals,” Mayor Benitez said.
Also present during the inauguration ceremony were several members of the City Council, city hall department heads, and RMNHS principal Gladys Gerona and teachers, among others.
Mico Villaran, 17, a Grade 11 student of the said school competing for track and field hurdling event, said they were happy and grateful to the city government for providing them a decent shelter.
Villaran won the gold in 400m hurdles, 110m hurdles, and 4x100m relay in the 2024 Palarong Pambansa. He will compete in five events in the 2025 Palarong Pambansa this coming May.
He will be joined by fellow tracksters Michael Grejaldo Jr., Grade 10, and Cloui Joy Loquias, Grade 11, in representing Western Visayas in the national amateur games.
Mayor Benitez had pushed for the construction of the dormitory after seeing the athletes stay in a small, old shack behind the school campus last year. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency)/PN
