MY SPIN

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BY JUN ESCALONA
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The Palarong Pambansa 2017 in Antique

MANY people are watching with bated breath as talks of the province hosting the Palarong Pambansa next year, 2017, has started debates here and there. Is Antique prepared for the event?
Opinion leaders are not divided on the matter. In fact, the vast majority is excited about the benefits and getting the larger percentage of the argument.
The “oppositors” are the same people who stand in the way of popular benefit and welfare, but they are outnumbered 10 to one-half of one, though. It is not even worth considering.
Yes you read right, the oppositionists define the inadequacies the province has. The pro group countered that any obligation that the Palaro may further require aside from those already in place could be adequately complied given a year’s time. Most important, the people are prepared to be friendly to visitors, not unruly.
Comparing the problems against the benefits, hosting the about 15 to 20 thousand people consuming food, beverages and entertainment for about a week, the benefits outweigh the problems proponents say.
And rightly so, since the capital town of San Jose, de Buenavista had long been improving in terms of business opportunities enjoyed by malls and hotels, restaurants and beach resorts have been sprouting here and there, offering unblemished foreshore experience. Our sports facilities are quite adequately maintained with the holding very recently of the Philippine National Games.
We will again be hosting the forthcoming West Visayas Regional Athletic Association Meet, and the experience will add to our preparedness for the national sports event.
One could imagine the economic impression it can have to fish, meat and vegetable vendors, the restaurants, the hotels, the malls and the entertainment houses because not only athletes are coming but also coaches, parents, and plain sightseers.
Seaside resorts could enjoy a large benefaction of a retinue of the young and old from Luzon and Mindanao and the neighboring provinces who not only wish to see the games but also are curious about what Antique has to offer in terms of sights and entertainment.
According to event organizers, particular games could be played in turns at towns or schools with adequate sports playgrounds and accommodation either in the northern, southern or central Antique, in addition to the main venue, the Binirayan Sports Complex where facilities meet international norms, including the Binirayan Swimming Pool that is of Olympic standards.
In terms of transportation, Gov. Rhodora J. Cadiao has embarked on improving the Evelio B. Javier Airport, of course with the assistance provided by the Department of Transportation and Communication in adding more length and breadth of the runway to accommodate larger passenger jets.
Our seaport in northern Antique may still complete the jetty port, popularly known as the ro-ro or (roll-on/roll-off) port in Culasi. We’d like to think that it is being done now, as reported a year ago. As our airport is now in the works, we can be pretty sure it can serve contingents from Luzon and Mindanao, and faraway regions for the games.
According to experts, the province would need lots of water, meat, fish and other staples, and that our officials would have to do double-time working on the contingencies in the event that that it pushes through.
Three provinces have bid for the games, and Antique has outranked the two others in playground and accommodation facilities, not to mention our tourist destinations, hospitable and super courteous people.
Antique is noted for its natural wonders that will thrill visitors, and that’s a modest statement.
And yet some people have not only expressed doubt but have openly opposed the holding of the games here. Many will be influenced, particularly in their political fiefdoms. But what matters most is the findings of the appraisal team that will pave the way for the event to happen here, not the resolution of support, or opposition, from non-conformist groups. They are not many, of course, and you can count them by your fingers.
Groups for the palaro hosting, however, say the majority of officials, employees and plain citizens are for hosting the event here. It is a foregone conclusion that those sympathetic with their opposing boss may not come up with Sangguniang Bayan resolutions of support but have signified they will also back the event when the contingents start coming.
A great majority say it is a once-in-a-lifetime event that they wanted to experience and savor in their life, and say that they would be foolish- to oppose it.
Hosting the games is also expected to boost tourism in the province, as some visitors would take the chance to see what is there in Antique, how antique we are, aside from having the lonely district  congressional representation. Yes, and why we have not grown from the rut we have been in ever since.
Is it because after Evelio, our leaders in our beloved province have been insensitive to people’s needs and aspirations? Or, were they just plain insensible?
Any conjecture in this regard may just be as good, if not better than ours./PN
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