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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Saturday, April 22, 2017
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CADIAO. “We will distribute the beddings as soon as they arrive.”
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MANILA – Delegates to the 60th Palarong Pambansa in Antique province criticized the organizers for not providing them proper beddings.
Some athletes have been using cartons in their billeting quarters since their arrival on Sunday because sleeping mats were still unavailable.
“Nakakaawa po ang kalagayan ng mga bata doon,” a member of a southern delegation who requested anonymity told Panay News.
“Dumating sila noong Sunday, hanggang ngayon hindi pa sila nabibigyan ng magandang tulugan,” the source said.
“Iyong iba humingi ng kanilang sleeping mats, ang ibinigay karton kasi hindi daw na-deliver ng supplier nila,” the delegate added. “Nakakaawa po. Masakit na po mga likod nila.”
A head coach of a sports team from Visayas, whose athletes were billeted at the Governor Julian Fullon Pacificador National School in Barangay Funda, Hamtic town, expressed a similar sentiment.
“Hirap na hirap na nga ang mga players ko dahil matigas ang hinihigaan namin,” said the coach. “Sana naman po ay maayos na ng organizer iyong sitwasyon na ito.”
APOLOGIES
Gov. Rhodora Cadiao, one of those who aggressively pushed for the province’s hosting of the national games, was sorry.
“We want to apologize sa delay in the distribution of beddings,” the governor said. “We encountered a problem doon sa pagbili ng beddings dahil doon sa 14,000 na expected to be delivered, 6,000 pa lang ang nakakarating.”
“It’s true that some of the athletes slept on cartons, while others were able to borrow beddings from good Samaritans, and iyong iba may dala of their own,” she added. “We will make sure to distribute the beddings as soon as they arrive.”
Palarong Pambansa, an annual multi-sporting event organized and governed by the DepEd and involves student-athletes from 18 regions, aims to promote physical education and sports as integral parts of basic education.
It intends to inculcate in the youths’ minds discipline, teamwork, excellence, fair play, solidarity, sportsmanship, and other inherent values, and eventually make them responsible and globally competitive citizens.
Moreover, it seeks to promote and achieve peace through sports, and widen the bases for talent identification, selection, recruitment, training, and exposure for elementary and secondary students to serve as roster of national sports associations for international competitions.
ENFORCERS
In a related development, law enforcement officers will be spread across game venues and billeting areas during the national sporting event Antique province is hosting for the first time from April 23 to 29.
On Friday, Task Group Palarong Pambansa 2017 made a show of force during a sendoff ceremony at the EBJ Freedom Park in the capital town of San Jose.
The task group comprises personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, among others.
They will offer security and safety services as organizers and the provincial government aims for crime-free games and as President Rodrigo Duterte graces the opening ceremonies on Sunday.
Task force members, along with their armaments and logistical capabilities, were presented to Cadiao during the sendoff.
“An initial 900 (police) personnel will be deployed 24/7 to cover all venues,” said Senior Superintendent Leo Erwin Agpangan, the task group’s site commander. He added that they need the “full cooperation” of the community.
A priest from St. Joseph Cathedral led the ceremonial blessing of the task force’s equipment.
Augmentation police forces from Aklan, Capiz, Iloilo, and Guimaras were sent to Antique.
“We have enough men to secure the Palaro 2017, and they are all in place,” said Senior Superintendent Christopher Tambungan, deputy regional police director for operations. “We provided their billeting areas, food and other needs.”
Plainclothes officers and soldiers will make rounds at game venues, too — not only in San Jose but also in Sibalom, Tobias Fornier, Bugasong, Anini-y, Belison, and Patnongon towns.
“We want this activity to be peaceful. I ask the public to cooperate with us,” Tambungan said. (With Ruby Silubrico/PN)
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