While Baguio’s and Benguet’s biggest threat to hosting the 61st Palarong Pambansa next year is tracking a smooth course towards the goal this October, political, sports and education officials from the localities have no definite program of work yet as they finalize a viable bid for the August 31 deadline.
After four meetings, those tasked to prepare the bid, including venue preparation for the ocular inspection mid this month by Palaro officials, have not set a concrete direction yet.
“What will happen to the P4 million. Where will we use it,” asked Baguio mayor Mauricio Domogan patiently during a meeting last Tuesday afternoon at his office.
Sports officials gave no immediate answer. They later admitted that the fund will be for miscellaneous expenses like food, transportation, accommodation and various expenses for Palaro officials. Some P500,000 will be used alone to host Palaro officials during the final meeting to prepare the event.
He then told the assembly to create a committee that will prepare the budget and be made ready during their next meeting.
The group will also have a solidarity meeting on August 10 at the Baguio athletic bowl to solidify the effort to host. The day will also have a press conference after the various government offices and possible private sector partners including media have pledged their support for the Baguio-Benguet Palaro hosting.
Formidable Foe
But Baguio is racing against time as bidding is only some four weeks away and is in direct opposition to a formidable foe. Baguio’s only apparent advantage is its vaunted cooler weather that has earned for itself the monicker as “Summer Capital of the Philippines,” but Ilocos Sur, known for its Heritage City of Vigan, appears to be having a substantial lead in the race and increasing as D-Day approaches this October.
“We are looking at a possible P20 million counterpart,” said councilor Peter Fianza, an amount the city hopes to share with Benguet.
Department of Education – Cordillera information officer Gerald Perala-oy said that they need also video clips for its video presentation to present Baguio-Benguet as best choice in hosting the event next year.
“We are calling on our media friends to help us come out with our video presentation,” said Perala-oy. The video, apparently, will present 17 reasons, up from 12 and 15, to make Palaro officials opt for Baguio and Benguet as host.
They have also tapped the colleges to help host the event as venues. The Saint Louis University, University of Baguio, University of the Cordilleras, Easter College, the Philippine Military Academy as well as the Benguet State University and Cordillera Career Development College in La Trinidad, Benguet have pledged their support and whose representatives, mostly athletic directors, have been attending the meetings.
“But we need to know if the DepEd will also allocate funds for us,” said an athletic director adding that while public schools will be given a P300,000 each allocation to improve their facilities, none has been committed to them.
“We expect damages to our facilities, which will be needing repairs after the event” added the director, who is also in the thick of preparation for the Baguio-Benguet Educational Athletic League, which has 11 universities and colleges from Baguio and Benguet as members.
The new drive hopes to erase the stigma of the 1995 effort to host the 1996 Palaro which Baguio lost to Camarines Sur. Domogan then was on his second of his first three terms and winning the hosting of the event would see the development of the then dilapidated Baguio athletic bowl.
It was only last year when the athletic bowl was finally repaired, thanks to the effort of one of Domogan’s predecessors in Congress, former Rep. Nicasio Aliping, Jr. who worked out a budget from the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Domogan, who served also as a three-term congressman and is now on his last term as a mayor (his second of three terms each), needs yet to see the implementation of the P60 million city allocation for the construction of a multi-purpose, multi-story sports facility within the 7-hectare sports complex.
A Clearer Vision
Vigan City, which hopes to host the event after its 1953 and 1973 hostings when it was still called Bureau of Public Schools-Interscholastic Athletics Association, has a clear vision which was already pronounced clear when it hosted the Region I Athletic Association earlier this year.
In its official website prior the RIAA hosting, it wrote: “The thorough preparation is in line with the plan of the PGIS to bid for the Palarong Pambansa in 2018. The R1AA will be a prelude of the Palaro, if Ilocos Sur will be given the chance to be the place of the historic sports event.”
Officials of the 460-year old plus Vigan and Ilocos Sur want 2018 as memorable as possible. After completing the conversion of the Elpidio Quirino stadium into world class athletic facility in 2015, Ilocos Sur plans for something big as it also gears up for its bicentennial celebration of its separation from Ilocos Norte next year.
In Feb. 2, 1818, in an effort to gain more political control and because of the increasing population of the region, a Royal Decree was signed that split Ilocos into the Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur provinces.
The Singsons led by Gov. Ryan and father Luis, the former governor, are reportedly moving mountains to bag the hosting of the Palaro.
The father and son tandem have spent millions of dollars to bring the Ms. Universe candidates last January to Vigan in a show of force that may dwarf the cost of hosting the Palaro. It was a clear sign that they are dead serious to make something big leading to next year.
If Ilocos Sur wins, Palaro delegates will reportedly be ferried to Vigan City first class using the Singson owned bus line Partas and if need be, officials will be flown in to the capital, which has been listed as a world heritage site by the UNESCO.
Bombo Radyo Vigan reported earlier this year that a recent visit of DepEd assistant Sec. Tonisto Umali and Palaro officials to the city has all but confirmed Vigan’s hosting of the country’s biggest sporting event.
The report said that although ASec. Umali may have not directly stated that Ilocos Sur will be host by inspecting the province’s facilities to ensure that Ilocos Sur is capable of hosting the Palaro, provincial officials are confident that they have built a solid case, something Palaro officials will definitely not overlook.
During the Palaro in Antique, hang a huge tarpaulin that read: “Welcome to the Heritage Province of Ilocos Sur: The Host of Palarong Pambansa 2018”.
Vigan hosted the event’s 6th edition in 1953 when then Pres. Elpidio Quirino, a proud son of the province, also inaugurated the then town’s new sports stadium named after him.
Vigan repeated as host in 1973 right after its cancellation the previous year due to the declaration of Martial Law.
Some 45 years later, Ilocos Sur hopes to host the event which will see around 12,000 delegates including some 7,000 athletes from 18 regions. The Palaro, which saw the inclusion of aerogymnastics and demo sports like wushu, wrestling, futsal and billiards as medal events the last staging, is expected to be held late April and early May next year.
Baguio and Benguet must step up their efforts in the hope to catch up with Ilocos Sur and host the Palaro for the first time, a first also for the mountain region.
Despite the disadvantage, Domogan believes that Baguio-Benguet can still pull it off. “We will bid as it is,” he said after Wednesday’s Ugnayan at his office.
Domogan said that the weather will be Baguio’s selling point when it so much cooler here during that period of the year, the hottest.
In other areas, play starts at 8 AM until 10 PM when it stops and resumes only after 2 PM.
Domogan likewise says that accommodation is not a problem because of its proximity with the venues.
And third, the venues because the universities have opened their doors and their gyms will be used during the week-long event, he added.
The other (bidders) may have difficulty providing for some of the venues since they need yet to construct, while we can depend on our colleges,” he said.
Last Palaro, the DepEd allotted around P300 million budget which were downloaded to the regions and divisions. Of this amount, P30 million went to the repairs of billeting areas for the delegates. Another P10 million came from the Philippine Sports Commission and the office of Sen. Loren Legarda.** PML
