Monday, March 13, 2006
Duterte: Silent worker in sports
By Charles Raymond A. Maxey
BACK in December of last year, during a ceremony he hosted to honor Davao City athletes who garnered medals in the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte delivered an emotional speech that left those in attendance in total silence.
"From the bottom of my heart, and in behalf of the people of Davao City, I would like to thank you all for making us proud and for bringing honor to the city," Duterte said in a manner seldom heard from him, his voice crackling in every word uttered.
The mayor was overwhelmed by the performance of the Davao athletes, and the people in attendance at the Grand Men Seng Hotel, the athletes' parents and the media understood how the local chief executive felt that Thursday afternoon.
It was a sporting victory for Davao as the local athletes contributed 11 gold medals of the 113 golds captured by the country in the SEA Games just weeks earlier.
So proud and thrilled no end, it was just fitting that Duterte handed out cash incentives that day to the deserving Davao athletes, led by diver Shiela Mae Perez, who bagged no less than three golds in the biennial sports conclave.
Delighted by Duterte's gesture, the athletes and their parents in turn let out a rousing applause to express their gratitude to the city's No. 1 sportsman and supporter.
Yes, Duterte, criticized by political opponents before for allegedly giving less priority to sports is a friend, an ally, and champion to every athlete and to the sports community in general.
"For years, the mayor has silently worked for sports," said Christopher Go, the city sports coordinator and the mayor's executive assistant. Go was reluctant at first to be interviewed he wants to remain behind the scene in the implementation of the city's sports projects, but obliged when pressed by Sun.Star Davao.
Go said handing out cash incentives to deserving athletes and providing financial support to those who are in need of funds every time a national tournament comes around is just part of Duterte's program to push sports development in the city.
There is the regular basketball clinic for children, the Duterte Basketball League that draws the participation of all the 180 barangays, the All-Muslim Cup and the Elderlympics for the seniors citizens, which has been running for three years now.
The free cage clinic for kids conducted by the Duterte Agilas basketball team alone is a successful project. Since the clinic started, it has covered 49 barangays and benefited a total of 7,350 children.
The beneficiaries are boys and girls with age ranging from six to 12.
"We are happy to have reached out to a lot of kids through our free basketball clinics in the barangays," Go said.
All these, and all other cash assistance to various sports groups, are being provided by the City Government all these years despite the meager budget of the Sports Development Office, which operates with an allotment of only P1.4 million annually. When asked how his office works effectively with the tight budget, Go said all they need is to look for other source of funds when implementing all the directions set by the local chief executive.
Go also pointed out a few steps undertaken to realize their goals. "First, we reviewed some policies with regards to areas on how we can help the sports community better. Second, we made some reengineering in our personnel and placed people who have the capacity to do the assigned tasks better," Go said.
He said City Hall had also tied up with the media and made the sports division become transparent with regards to the development activities of the mayor.
Go explained that when the sports development division was established in 1996, it was an indication that sports is part of Duterte's administration.
This year, the local government, as in the previous years, have already provided cash incentives to the Davao medal winners in the 3rd Asean Para Games in Manila, and has extended financial assistance to various sports activities like the 1st DIA Manaer's Cup badminton tournament and 5th JT Pingoy taekwondo tournament.
The Holy Child School of Davao, the Davao Football Association and the regional office of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines based in Davao City were also the initial beneficiaries of cash assistance.
And with the 69th Araw ng Dabaw fast approaching, the City Government has organized a number of sports activities not only for the athletes and regular participants but also for the government employees.
Go is also happy to announce that the Philippine Sports Commission thru the initiatives of no less than the chairman, William "Butch" Ramirez, and commissioners Ritchie Garcia and Joeyu Mundo, is donatating a boxing ring and a skeet and trap equipment to Mayor Duterte as part of the agency's reaching out program to the local government units.
But there is one major project that Duterte is planning to put up, and that is the realization of the proposed Elias B. Lopez Sports Complex in Mintal, Tugbok this city.
But Go would rather have the mayor make the announcement himself in the days to come. So far, everything is coming into place for the Davao City government in as far as sports development is concerned, Go assured.
"The sports development division will continue in its efforts to deliver the needed sports services to the Dabawenyos as humanly as possible," Go said.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (March 13, 2006 issue)
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