Friday, July 04, 2008 Guv, official: LGUs are the strength of amateur sports By Marianne Saberon-Abalayan
TUBOD, Lanao del Norte -- Lanao del Norte Governor Mohammad Khalid Dimaporo and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William "Butch" Ramirez were one in saying that the strength of amateur sports comes from the local government units (LGUs).
Ramirez, who spoke before 50 participants during the opening of the Mindanao Sports Summit at the Function Hall of the Mindanao Civic Center here Thursday, said that without the support of the LGUs, grassroots sports would not succeed.
"The PSC helps to provide technical support in conducting sports seminars or in architectural designs of sports facilities, among others. The National Sports Associations (NSAs) are also limited in their scope," Ramirez said.
He said the LGUs have the leeway to choose which sports to focus on and put resources in.
"The LGUs have all the resources to develop sports in the grassroots. If the LGUs just allocate the five percent of each of their annual Income Revenue Allotment (IRA) allotment to sports as mandated by law, it can go far in the promotion and development of sports," Ramirez said.
Dimaporo said he is offering the sprawling multi-million, world-class MCC as a focal point of sports tourism destination in Northern Mindanao.
"We want to use MCC, which is our biggest asset, to promote sports. MCC is not just for the people of Lanao del Norte or to Mindanaoans but to all Filipinos," the 28-year-old governor said to the applause of the summit attendees.
Dimaporo said that with MCC, which hosted the inaugural Mindanaon Friendship Games in 2001, they would again bid to host the Palarong Pambansa and Philippine Olympic Festival National Championships and other big-time sporting events.
"We will do every thing we can to make MCC lively because it is very crucial for us to maximize our asset and the funds we have put in it," the governor said.
He said he's optimistic that the Mindanao Sports Summit can go a long way in giving the direction for the region's stakeholders and sports leaders.
"Let us produce more athletes and sports idols in Mindanao. Let us show the rest of the country and the world that they have nothing to fear in coming to our lands and invest. We just need to identify the sports where we can really excel," said the son of former governor Imelda Dimaporo, who was also instrumental in ensuring that MFG get to have two more editions before it went into a four-year hiatus.
Davao City Private Schools Athletic Association (DC-Prisaa) officials agreed that the LGU plays an important role in the development of sports in the grassroots level.
