CAOAYAN, ILOCOS SUR - It's the moment of truth as Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio leads the city's contingent to the Palarong Pambansa 2019 final bidding presentation set to start at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 14, at the Vigan Convention Center in Vigan City.
Department of Education (Deped) Undersecretary Tionisito Umali, in an exclusive SunStar Davao Facebook Live interview on Friday, after his lecture on the Legal Foundation of the Palarong Pambansa during the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC)-organized "Communicate Sports", a sports journalism seminar for the youth held at the Nueva Segovia Consortium of Cooperatives (NSCC) Plaza Hotel and Convention Center here yesterday, bared that Duterte-Carpio is arriving. She will be pitted against representatives of other bidding local government units (LGUs) - Zamboanga Province, Misamis Occidental and General Santos City.
"The was the information we received. It shall be Mayor Sara who will be leading the (Davao City) team that will make the bid for the hosting of the 2019 Palarong Pambansa," Umali said, adding that the winner of the bidding will depend on the vote of the 10-member Palarong Pambansa Board comprised of DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones, four DepEd undersecretaries, three DepEd assistant secretaries, one PSC representative (Commissioner Charles Raymond A. Maxey) and one representative from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
"Sa kanila (Palaro Board) nakasalalay kung sino po ang magiging host ng Palaro 2019," he said.
He also said Davao City "definitely has a good chance" having seen its facilities and considering that it has not hosted the Palaro "for a while now".
Umali, however, said, "The three other LGUs are equally deserving. They also have the necessary facilities to be eligible to host the 2019 Palaro.
Duterte-Carpio, in a statement posted via Davao City Government official page last November 6, 2017, urged the public to visit the city for the Palarong Pambansa 2019.
"Come and watch the best student athletes from all over the country compete across diverse sporting disciplines in the largest city in the country - a sprawling 244,000-hectare paradise that brings the best of nature's bounties with the amenities of modern living," she said in her statement.
Davao City hosted the recently-concluded Davao Region Athletic Association (Davraa) Meet and Duterte-Carpio vowed an all-new experience for delegates should Davao City host the Davraa Meet 2019 again in preparation for its bid to host the Palaro 2019.
In a previous media interview, she said that Davao City-University of the Philippines (UP) Sports Complex will be utilized for the 2019 stagings of the Davraa Meet and Palarong Pambansa 2019. It was not yet ready when the Davraa Meet 2018 was held in the city but it is expected to be completed before 2019.