It's my life here," he said. "It's like my family, and I just give something to the kids and Sister May, if they need some help."
Debuting for Stallion in January 2014 in the UFL, Rota quickly caught the eye of Azkals' manager Thomas Dooley. He made his debut for the national team in March of that year, against Malaysia.
Rota would go on to score his first international goal in the AFC Challenge Cup, and would be an integral part of the Azkals' Suzuki Cup squad where the Philippines made the semifinals.
It was a year when Rota says "everything went so fast."
He added: "It was like a dream to represent the Philippines and, and I'm still living my dream."
Stallion would finish in a disappointing fourth place that year, and have been struggling to find consistency ever since. The team have been unable to replicate their 2013 double-winning form on a regular basis.
Coach Ernie Nierras has seen players come and go, but his commitment to developing Filipino talent is what drives Stallion. Rota is optimistic that good things for his team are just around the corner.
"Stallion is like a family. So hopefully, we are trying to get better every year, and helping most of the local players to grow up," he said.
"So just give time to the team to have a right mentality to win the UFL, and maybe to play in the AFC Cup. This is our goal.