No, no, no, it wasn’t the actions of the athletes that were disgraceful but the actions of Dumaguete DepEd. As the athletes were preparing and practicing for the Palarong Pambansa in Tagum City, we received word that the athletes would have to pay their own way from Dumaguete to Cebu City. Needless to say I was in shock, not because of the amount but because this never happened before in the previous five years that I have been involved in the local, regional and national sports.
The games are now over and there was never a guarantee that the money would be refunded. I personally paid for three athletes from Dumaguete to Cebu as the regional DepEd would be covering expenses from Cebu to Tagum. Unbelievable!! That these athletes were even asked to pay their way. They are some of the best athletes throughout the Philippines representing Dumaguete City. What a shame. Yes and that’s with capital letters.
These athletes could not have paid on their own. So what would have happened if the fare was not paid? They would have had to miss the biggest sporting event in the Philippines. Something they have trained hard for the past year would have been all for naught. What a regretful lifetime memory they would have had. Shame-shame – shame.
So I wondered why this came about? I attended the CVRAA or Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association in Balamban Cebu last February. Dumaguete had over 300 athletes in attendance. A conservative estimate of expenses would be about three million pesos. If I’m wrong let me know. This doesn’t even include the support personnel, such as coaches and chaperons.
I witnessed the attitude of many of these athletes, and they were in Balamban on a social visit only. One coach called them toxic to the competitive environment. So money could have been saved by not including them. Another thing I noticed was the display of several tarpaulins with prominent figures posted on them. We need to remember the words of Jesus: Luke 18:14 “for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
I talked to many coaches at the Palaro and they never heard of any other Dep Ed that required their athletes to pay for travel. In fact many Dep Ed’s along with local governments offer their athletes monetary incentives for making it to the grand event. I wonder if any plans were made to support any athlete who may have qualified. Maybe Dep Ed Dumaguete figured that no one or very few would make it. How about a budget that would have forseen such a happening. Was a budget even prepared?
Well I will leave that topic and get back to those who deserve to be written about, the athletes. Yes, the athletes, some whom I know personally, trained not only for a few weeks, but for months. Some really haven’t stopped training for years.
Tagum City
Palm Capital of the Philippines
This year’s Palaro was held in Tagum City and I was very impressed with this city. I have asked others who were there, what their impression was. The common answers; very clean, wide roads, friendly people and of course the palms. Tagum city is known as the Palm City of the Philippines. Huge palms line the PAN Philippine Highway going through Tagum. But what I observed and was impressed by the most, was the lack of a certain noise. That being the motorcycles. I was told that it is a national law forbidding the removal of the baffle from the muffler which prevents the obnoxious noise we hear when removed. The Tagum PNP will impound motorcycles that remove this device. What a concept, law enforcement. Tagum City is also the capital city of the province of Davao del Norte. Seventeen regions competed in various events from May 3 to May 9.
Now to the athletes who trained so hard to even get to the Palarong Pambansa. Of the Dumaguete athletes who made it to the Palaro, seven qualified in the CVRAA by capturing either gold or silver medals. The others were what some call draftees. They were not part of a winning team, but were picked to strengthen that team.
So let’s begin with the sport of archery. Two young female students from Silliman University High School, represented Dumaguete and CVRAA in this Palaro. Competing as a seventh grader one tiny but determined athlete named Cola Tagle garnered the only medals in any sport for Dumaguete. Archery is a sport that requires nerves of steel, concentration, and as her father said “coolness under pressure. Her father, Nick Tagle is connected with NBI Dumaguete.
Her given name is Nicole, but she likes to be called Cola, and I’m one who is not going to debate names, knowing that she can hit bulls eyes from 30 meters, 40 meters, and even farther. She ended up taking two gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal. What an accomplishment.
Her teammate and also her classmate Nasha Dionaldo also did very well for her first Palaro with hopes of many more. She garnered at least one top five finish from among 63 others archers from 16 regions of the Philippines.
Three individuals representing Dumaguete also competed in the sport of athletics. Competing in her fourth palaro, Reyshel Queding of Dumaguete Mission school took seventh place in the 1500 meter run from among the more than 30 competitors. This was her best finish as a high schooler since finishing fifth in her first Palaro as a sixth grader.
Another outstanding performance was again done by another seven grader Ann Katherine Quitoy; also a teammate of Reyshel at Dumaguete Mission School. Competing in her second Palaro she made it to the finals of the Javelin throw and placed eighth. In last years Palaro she did not even make the finals. But she practiced hard this past year and it was evident in her performance.
Many Palaro athletic records were broken. In the high school girls javelin, as just mentioned, a new record was established with a throw of 42.34 meters. Also the high school girls record in the 800 meter run was shattered from 2 minutes 17 seconds to 2 minutes 12 seconds. That is a huge difference.
Things are changing for the better in Philippine sports. Competition has been elevated. NCR was this year’s overall champion with 98 gold medals. Far back in second was region 4A with 51 golds, and in third, region 6, West Visayas with 42 golds. Central Visayas ended up in 6th place with 18 gold medals. But let’s look deeper into the present and the past results. In 2012 NCR was again the over all champion, but with 150 gold medals. So we see a drop of 52 gold medals compared with this year.
So where are the medals going? Well, they are going to other regions who have stepped up the level of competition. Just one example is Eastern Visayas. In 2012 they placed 16th overall and garnered a total of 8 medals. This year they took 18 medals and placed 11th. A few other regions are doing the same.
Eastern Visayas has set up a sports academy in Tacloban City with over 100 student athletes that board and school together. The government put in three million pesos and Smart Corporation put in two million pesos to start the program. In athletics, a coach from Manila comes to Tacloban twice a month to oversee the training programs. West Visayas continues to be a powerhouse in athletics.
So what does this mean for this area? We cannot continue to keep repeating the past. Things need to improve in the overall development of sports. One friend of mine here in Dumaguete once told me, that sure there are some local athletes that are winners here, but let them compete on a regional or even a national level, and see how they do.
My prayer is that change will happen, and i do see some bright spots and some individuals that recognize the need for change. It takes bold leadership to stick one’s neck out and try to do something to improve the stuation.
In conclusion: SHAME – SHAME — SHAME
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Author’s email: [email protected]
