A TOTAL of 125 shooting enthusiasts from different government agencies vied for the top spots in the 2017 Government Corporations Athletic Association (GCAA) shootfest competition held recently at Nausog Firing Range, Naval Base Heracleo Alano, Sangley Point in Cavite City.

Shooting enthusiasts from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Landbank of the Philippines (LBP), National Food Authority (NFA), Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA), and Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) vied for the championship title in the said tournament. The PAGCOR organized this year’s competition which is one of the most awaited sports in the GCAA.

In the Classic Division, Team PhilHealth won with 1928 merit points, followed by PAGCOR with 1603 merit points, and PCSO with1540 merit points.

PhilHealth also took the lead in the Production Division with 1950 merit points followed by MIAA with 1697 merit points and PAGCOR with 1569 merit points.

Overall, Team PhilHealth was named champion in the 2017 GCAA shootfest competition for garnering the highest points in all divisions. This is a back-to-back championship for the team since they also won in last year’s tournament.

A special award for senior shooters, or players aged 60 and above was given to NFA’s Deputy Administrator Ludovico Jarina for acquiring the highest score of 465 merit points, under the Standard Division.

On the other hand, Benito Montallana Jr. from PCSO and Ronilo Ditching of MIAA got the highest merit points of 372 and 227 for the classic and production divisions respectively.

Clarita Miranda of MIAA amazed the crowd when she ruled the ladies category under the Standard Division with 221 merit points while Agnes Ibera from PCSO got the highest merit points of 356 in the Classic Division. Also, PAGCOR’s Irma Santos took the number one spot in the ladies category of the Production Division.

Thomas Narcise of NFA led the Standard Division for the executive category with 475 merit points, while PhilHealth’s Filbert Sollesta obtained the top spot with 568 merit points in the Classic Division. Furthermore, Joel Ignacio of LBP got the highest points of 217 in the Production Division.

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For the team competition under the Standard Division, NFA got 2301 merit points, followed by PhilHealth with 1752 merit points and MIAA with 1740 merit point.

Prior to the event, the GCAA Steering Committee, together with the range master and officers, conducted an orientation on the rules and regulations of the tournament to refresh everyone on how the scoring will be done.

There are three (3) major divisions for the event namely Production, Standard and Classic, wherein every participating team should be composed of at least five (5) shooters and only a pistol stock with 9mm, 40mm and 45mm calibers may be used.

Loida Ignacio of PhilHealth, one of the GCAA Steering Committee members, stated that the criteria for player selection provides no discrimination for age, sex, and organizational roles as women, senior citizens, and executives are welcome to join. Ignacio further explained that all of the shooters practiced the safety measures and observed responsible firearm ownership during the competition.

George A. Bolo, GCAA Vice President for Operations and Membership and Extension stated that this competition aims to convene government employees with shooting skills and build camaraderie within government agencies, adding that, in the long run, the establishment of a good inter-agency relationship can lead to more cohesive and better service for the Filipino people. (END) (Dianna Marie S. Chua)

(Reference: Dr. Israel Francis A. Pargas
PhilHealth Official Spokesperson
OIC-Vice President for Corporate Affairs Group
Tel. (02) 441-7444 ext. 7587)