ALFONSO LISTA, IFUGAO– More than 3,000 athletes vied for top honors when the 2017 Ifugao Provincial Athletic Selection Meet took place Dec. 5 to 9 at various venues in Alfonso Lista town.
Most of them were entered in the track and field events and tested their mettle for slots in next year’s Cordillera Administrative Region Athletic Association (CARAA) Meet. Track and field is the centerpiece of any multi-event competition.
But focus was on Vice President Leni Robredo, the Guest of Honor and Speaker for the province’s most prestigious sports competition.
Ifugao has a very special place in the heart of Vice President Robredo. She earlier visited Asipulo and Kiangan towns. The second highest official of the country is well-admired in Ifugao’s 11 towns.
Alfonso Lista Mayor Glenn Prudenciano introduced Vice President Robredo.
This year’s meet marks the beginning of the tedious selection process for Ifugao’s delegation to the CARAA. Ifugao’s dismal performance in the last CARAA in Baguio City drew widespread lamentation. It placed second to the last. Ifugao ranked third in two previous CARAA stagings.
Robredo underscored the vitality of promoting the sports and physical fitness programs to ensure the protection of the well-being of the youth.
She said the gathering of Ifugao’s premiere athletes “symbolizes the importance we give to developing their potentials to the fullest.”
“It’s a big shot in the arm,” said Board Member Robert Humiwat, with reference to the attendance of Vice President Robredo.
“Vice President undoubtedly has a strong and deep concern for the youth and this occasion will be an opportunity to reaffirm her position on promoting the welfare of the young,” he said.
In an exclusive interview with the ZigZag Weekly, Board Member Humiwat in stressing the importance of the sports development program in Ifugao, motioned that Vice President Robredo’s track record easily attests to her commitment to upgrade the conditions of youngsters as “it has a positive impact on her sense of understanding of their needs, wants and sentiments.”
“The honored presence of Vice President Robredo echoes and affirms an example found in good and democratic governance, which call on us to be kinder and wiser in how we respond to the needs of the youth,” Board Member Humiwat quipped.
Vice President Robredo has helped shape history since she was elected congressman of Camarines Sur province. Her success against reducing poverty incidence in her district is well-acknowledged. She is the president of the opposition Liberal Party.
The staging of the provincial selection meet in this largely corn-producing town adjacent to Isabela province is expected to boost the province’s tourism and trade as well as generate jobs for residents even for a short duration.
Mayor Prudenciano, who’s been providing ample support on the municipality’s athletes for so many years, left no stone unturned making sure that the competition will be a huge success.
Assisting Mayor Prudenciano in this herculean task is Vice Mayor Joseph Angowan, another influential leader of the town.
An elaborate opening ceremony program was witnessed on Dec. 6 at the Alfonso Lista Central School. Other key participants were Ifugao Rep, Teodoro Baguilat Jr., Governor Pedro Mayam-o, Vice Governor Jose Jordan Gullitiw, board members, local officials, OIC Ifugao Schools Division Superintendent Felipe Ballitoc and other highly-placed Department of Education (DepEd) officials.
This is certainly the most amusing part among Ifugao residents is the fact that they give more importance to the parade rather than the opening rites itself of the competition. A parade took place prior to the opening ceremony. Clearly, educational institutions failed to accelerate the introduction of a new mindset among them.
DepEd Sports Coordinator Anthony Gallangi led the Officiating Officials Pledge.
Apart from Alfonso Lista players, athletes from Aguinaldo, Asipulo, Banaue, Hingyon, Hungduan, Lagawe, Lamut, Mayoyao and Tinoc towns as well as the Ifugao Private Schools Athletic Association (IPSAA) contested the top honors in the annual meet. The host town is a heavy favorite to dominate the competition. Last year, it captured the overall championship. Truth to tell, the meet was merely reduced to a battle for second and third placers.
The ever-strong and highly-competitive IPSAA delegation is headed by Vicariate Schools Superintendent Fr. Francis Balacuit, also a member of the executive committee. Five Catholic schools comprised the IPSAA. IPSAA hopefuls are only entered in the secondary level competition.
The provincial selection meet featured young and promising athletes from public elementary schools as well as public and private high schools.
Action in 21 events took place from Dec. 6-8 at nine sites.
Events slated include archery, arnis, athletics (track and field), badminton, baseball, basketball, billiards, boxing, chess, football, gymnastics, sepak takraw, softball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, wrestling and wushu. Kadang-Kadang and sanggol, both oriented in indigenous people’s culture, are no longer demonstration events. Results in these events – gold, silver and bronze medalists, now count in medal tally.
A solidarity program was held on Dec. 5 at the Amphitheater while the closing program was held on Dec. 9, also at the Alfonso Lista Central School.
Speaking with the ZigZag Weekly prior to the Alfonso Lista meet, Ballitoc stressed the significance of the competition. “We don’t see so many competitors in a town of Ifugao as this one,” he said.
He said it would now be in the hands of the winners here on how to carry the Ifugao colors in the forthcoming CARAA meet.
Themed “Breaking Barriers and Leading through Sports,” the meet also drew the participation of a number of coaches, trainers, principals, teachers, officials, referees, umpires, barangay government officials and guests. By a conservative estimate, nearly 7,000 heralded and unheralded participants- all eager to contribute their fair share to this historic undertaking.
Each year, visitors produce significant revenues for the Alfonso Lista economy. The Alfonso Lista edition of the provincial athletic selection meet is an important source of income for the municipal government and its residents. Expectedly, the accommodation, transportation and security are well in place, a timely reminder to each one that Alfonso Lista is one of the most peaceful and progressive municipalities in Ifugao.** By Anthony A. Araos