DAVAO City Councilor Leonardo Avilla III will look into the possibility of creating an ordinance that will formally institutionalize the Athletes Incentives Program of Davao City.
After a suggestion sprouted in a press conference at NCCC Mall of Davao, Councilor Avila said that he will conduct further studies about not just giving incentives to the athletes but also giving them scholarships.
"Atong tan-awon ang posibilidad sa paghimo ug ordinansa aron matabangan ang mga atleta sa dakbayan. (Hopefully we can create an ordinance to help our athletes)," he said.
He said that if the Athletes Incentives Program will be backed up by an ordinance, more opportunities will be given to the athletes and they can participate in bigger events that can improve their skills.
He said the government plays a vital role in the sports development of the city, "It is important to give opportunities to the athletes because they bring honor to all of us. We should have a vision to improve the sports development of the city especially in the grassroots level."
Sports Development Division of the City Mayor's Office (SDD-CMO) spokesperson Charles Maxey, meanwhile, said that the city is doing all they can to support the sports community of Davao City even if others undermine their efforts.
"We apologize to those athletes who felt that they were deprived of help from the sports office. The city government is always helpful to the athletes, it just so happened that we have a lesser budget than in the previous years," Maxey said.
Davao City is currently working on the Comprehensive Sports Development Program known as the Duterte Game Plan which aims to improve the quality of life of the Dabawenyos and at the same time promote a healthy lifestyle starting from the barangay level.