Fair Play: Vindication for DBC football team
IT’S good that the Department of Education is looking for ways to lessen the cost of holding the Palarong Pambansa—the premier sports meet in the country.
But I think DepEd is looking at it in a wrong way and the plan to hold it biennially is a wrong approach.
According to DepEd Regional Director Recaredo Borgonia, the plan to hold the Palaro every two years came about because of the massive expenses by the host city in putting up stadiums, track ovals and venues for the games.
But I think that’s the wrong move.
What happens to the City, Provincial and Regional meets then if there is no Palaro?
But that doesn’t mean DepEd should stop looking for ways to cut expenses and I think the perfect answer is right out there, just waiting to be discovered.
The Palarong Pambansa may be the Summer Olympics of the Philippines but it’s not the Summer Olympics, so why then does this practice of host cities building new facilities just for the Palaro continue?
These facilities, after the Palaro, often get moth-balled or are seldom used.
Hold the Palaro annually, but if you want to save funds, require those cities who want to bid for the games to have existing facilities capable of hosting the games.
That way, we don’t have to have multi-million peso sports complexes built every year.
Like I said, it’s just a simple solution, simpler than having to hold it every two years. But as simple solutions go, this one, I think is very hard to implement.
Choosing which city hosts the Palaro, sometimes, is not about the capability of the potential host, it’s all about who the mayor knows and his or her political color.
And then the mayor can ask a couple hundred million from his padrinos to build a….well, you get my drift, right?
FOOTBALL. I was hoping for a sweep of the football medals by Region 7 but I guess, this is the next best thing. The high school team, bannered by Don Bosco College, won, while the elementary team of Mario Ceniza lost, 3-1, despite scoring first.
I’m glad that DBC and Glen Ramos won because this team earned the ire of the Cesafi for forfeiting their games in favor of the City Olympics and their victory vindicated them.
Marites Caindec, the mother of Miguel, broke the news to me right after the team won Region 7’s first gold medal in 11 years.
Mrs. Caindec and I were regularly communicating last year when Cesafi threatened DBC with a season-long suspension because of the forfeiture.
Last I heard, it has been reduced to a one-match ban but I think even that is wrong.
I’ve been telling this for years—nobody listens—Cesafi’s penchant for giving basketball a two-month head start (so it hogs the sports headlines), while the rest of the events get crammed in September is the reason for the conflict.
It was Cesafi’s fault, and DBC’s victory in the Palarong Pambansa showed the football team made the right move—if forced to choose between the Cesafi and the City Olympics, always choose the DepED meet.
I hope Cesafi corrects its schedule, but if it still insists on giving basketball that head start, I swear to the sports gods I’m going to reduce our basketball coverage to one paragraph. Who knows, maybe that will work? (Evil smile.)
I was also rooting for a Mario Ceniza gold medal, but I guess, he’d have to settle yet again for a silver, to go with his second place finish in Palawan.
Like DBC, Mario and his team had to go through a lot—second selection, anyone? There were some things they had to overcome, too. But football politics, let’s say, is off the record.
For now.
But I think DepEd is looking at it in a wrong way and the plan to hold it biennially is a wrong approach.
According to DepEd Regional Director Recaredo Borgonia, the plan to hold the Palaro every two years came about because of the massive expenses by the host city in putting up stadiums, track ovals and venues for the games.
But I think that’s the wrong move.
What happens to the City, Provincial and Regional meets then if there is no Palaro?
But that doesn’t mean DepEd should stop looking for ways to cut expenses and I think the perfect answer is right out there, just waiting to be discovered.
The Palarong Pambansa may be the Summer Olympics of the Philippines but it’s not the Summer Olympics, so why then does this practice of host cities building new facilities just for the Palaro continue?
These facilities, after the Palaro, often get moth-balled or are seldom used.
Hold the Palaro annually, but if you want to save funds, require those cities who want to bid for the games to have existing facilities capable of hosting the games.
That way, we don’t have to have multi-million peso sports complexes built every year.
Like I said, it’s just a simple solution, simpler than having to hold it every two years. But as simple solutions go, this one, I think is very hard to implement.
Choosing which city hosts the Palaro, sometimes, is not about the capability of the potential host, it’s all about who the mayor knows and his or her political color.
And then the mayor can ask a couple hundred million from his padrinos to build a….well, you get my drift, right?
FOOTBALL. I was hoping for a sweep of the football medals by Region 7 but I guess, this is the next best thing. The high school team, bannered by Don Bosco College, won, while the elementary team of Mario Ceniza lost, 3-1, despite scoring first.
I’m glad that DBC and Glen Ramos won because this team earned the ire of the Cesafi for forfeiting their games in favor of the City Olympics and their victory vindicated them.
Marites Caindec, the mother of Miguel, broke the news to me right after the team won Region 7’s first gold medal in 11 years.
Mrs. Caindec and I were regularly communicating last year when Cesafi threatened DBC with a season-long suspension because of the forfeiture.
Last I heard, it has been reduced to a one-match ban but I think even that is wrong.
I’ve been telling this for years—nobody listens—Cesafi’s penchant for giving basketball a two-month head start (so it hogs the sports headlines), while the rest of the events get crammed in September is the reason for the conflict.
It was Cesafi’s fault, and DBC’s victory in the Palarong Pambansa showed the football team made the right move—if forced to choose between the Cesafi and the City Olympics, always choose the DepED meet.
I hope Cesafi corrects its schedule, but if it still insists on giving basketball that head start, I swear to the sports gods I’m going to reduce our basketball coverage to one paragraph. Who knows, maybe that will work? (Evil smile.)
I was also rooting for a Mario Ceniza gold medal, but I guess, he’d have to settle yet again for a silver, to go with his second place finish in Palawan.
Like DBC, Mario and his team had to go through a lot—second selection, anyone? There were some things they had to overcome, too. But football politics, let’s say, is off the record.
For now.
Comments
fyi, CVIRAA (springdale high school) also won the silver in Tarlac last year so its Mario's 3rd.