The bid of Dumaguete City and Negros Oriental to host the 2017 Palarong Pambansa has gone south after the province of Antique came out as the choice of a committee tasked to select the next Palaro host.
The Palaro Board awarded on Nov. 17 the hosting of the national games to Antique.
Education Sec. Leonor Magtolis Briones, chairperson of the Palaro Committee, had inhibited herself from the decision-making process out of delicadeza as she is from Negros Oriental.
Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo told the MetroPost that Dumaguete was the “overwhelming choice” of the Palaro Committee, and of the Regional Directors of the Department of Education to be the 2017 Palaro host because it has the facilities to hold the various sporting events within a 50-kilometer radius, and the housing accommodations for the participants.
Dumaguete even proved its capability to host the Palaro after the successful hosting of the 56th Palarong Pambansa in 2013.
Reports said that only Negros Oriental, Leyte, and Antique remained as the contenders for the Palaro 2017 hosting after Negros Occidental, Iloilo and Danao City in Cebu pulled out.
Among the Palarong Pambansa hosting criteria is that sports facilities to be used must be of international standards, and that these are well-secured and accessible.
Other criteria include accessibility to all means of transportation, and billeting areas for the athletic delegations and technical officials are adequate and conveniently located, with adequate rooms, comfort rooms, washing, kitchen and dining areas and other basic requirements. Sports facilities and billeting areas must have adequate supply of water and uninterrupted electric power.
The criteria also states that there must be available basic medical, dental transportation, and communication services, and the peace and order situation in the locality must be excellent and conducive to the holding of a national activity.
The Palarong Pambansa Committee also requires that the host local government must be capable and willing to shoulder expenses including construction and renovation of sports facilities, billeting, and other infrastructural requirement.
But while Negros Oriental was the top choice to win the bid, the Committee chose Antique after Sen. Loren Legarda and Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara Jr. wrote the Committee endorsing the bid of Antique.
Some members of the Palaro Committee also received a phone call from Senator Legarda in a bid to influence the outcome of the decision in favor of her home province. Legarda is the chairperson of the Appropriations Committee and a member of the Committee on Appointments.
Secretary Briones has yet to undergo confirmation proceedings with the Commission on Appointments.
Mayor Remollo told the MetroPost that Secretary Briones has resigned as chair of the Palaro Committee, but has yet to issue an official statement.
