LANAO del Norte is set to host huge sporting tourneys slated this month despite the spate of violence that erupted in Lanao del Sur and Marawi City.
“It is business as usual here in Lanao del Norte as we are busy preparing for huge events to be held this month. We are well aware of the situation in Butig (Lanao del Sur) and Marawi, but we are prepared for any eventuality,” Lanao del Sur Governor Imelda Quibranza-Dimaporo said in an interview on Monday, December 6.
Quibranza-Dimaporo said Lanao del Norte was the venue of the last leg of the Lanorte Man, a triathlon competition organized by the Provincial Government and participated in by local enthusiasts and professional triathletes from all over the country, on December 3 and 4.
A special category for children, Lanorte Kids, was also held on the same date.
The Lanorte Man 2016, separated into two different types, was the final series of the competition with 285 athletes competed to test who was at peak human body condition.
The types comprise of the sprint and the standard. The sprint requires the athletes to do 750 meters of swim, 20 kilometers of biking and 5 kilometers of run, while the standard doubles the distance the competitors have to go through with 1.5 kilometers, 40 kilometers and 10 kilometers, respectively.
The competition was held at Sultan Naga Dimaporo, where the swim’s starting line along the Pikalawag beach, then bike near the boundary of Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur and back for the run to finish the race at the town hall.
Elite triathlete LC Langit competed in the standard race along with other professional competitors.
The participants said they feel secure because they can see the provincial disaster and rescue teams ready to respond in case of emergency.
The winners of the Lanorte Man 2016 series are Jonard Saem of Team Unilab, Mark Balanay of Team Endure and Paul Jumamil of Team Omega Tri for the male category, Leyann Ramo of Team Iligan, Gwyneth Recentes of Team Brite Dipolog and Sittie Aminah Dimaporo of Team BNLC for the female category.
After the Lanorte Man, football players from around the country will compete in the Puma Cup to be held in the second week of December.
Although the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) cancelled its out-of-town game between Star Hotshots and Phoenix Fuel Masters scheduled at the 5,000-capacity Mindanao Civic Center gymnasium in Tubod town on December 10 that would have attracted thousands of sports fans from all over Mindanao, Quibranza-Dimaporo said Lanao del Norte will continue to hold sporting events not just this month but in the near future.
Aside from promoting itself as the “Land of Beauty and Bounty,” Lanao del Norte has earned the reputation as the motocross capital of the Philippines, with bikers from around the country and all over the world compete against each other.
The motocross race came to the province through the initiative of Lanao del Norte first district Representative Mohammad Khalid Dimaporo during his term as the provincial governor in 2010.
“The peace-loving people of Lanao del Norte cannot allow armed conflict and lawlessness in the province’s surrounding areas to spill over here. We have proven time and again that war and barbarity have no place in our province,” the governor said in a statement.
With these crowd-drawing sports competitions, Quibranza-Dimaporo said law enforcers and state security forces are ready to prevent any untoward incident during the conduct of these events.
The governor has also urged the local government officials to closely coordinate with the authorities and report any suspicious-looking individuals who may be committing criminal or terroristic activities.
She said provincial police command and the military stationed there are on red alert following the armed clashes between the armed forces and the Maute group in Butig days ago and an incident that led to the wounding of several members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) in Marawi last week.
The team of PSG and state-owned television crew, who acted as the advance party of President Rodrigo Duterte who visited Butig Wednesday, was on their way to the city’s downtown area when an explosion and several gunshots were heard.
The wounded PSG members, who are confined in an army hospital and a private medical facility in Cagayan de Oro City, were in stable condition.
After his meeting with government troops in Butig last Wednesday, Duterte made a stop in Cagayan de Oro to visit and pin Wounded Personnel medals to the injured PSG men.