TAGUM CITY—It’s official! The province of Davao del Norte and Tagum City grabbed the bid to host the 2015 Palarong Pambansa slated on May 3-9, 2015.
This came after a delegation led by Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario and Tagum City Mayor Allan Rellon went to Manila last Monday (December 15) to defend the province’s bid to host the said event before a panel composed of Department of Education officials
In the said bidding, Davao del Norte received a majority vote of 16 out of 18 before DepEd’s Management Committee at DepEd Central Office in Pasig, Metro Manila.
Davao del Norte bested four other provinces—Surigao del Norte, South Cotabato, Zamboanga del Norte and Lanao del Norte—which also vied to host the Palarong Pambansa next year.
Davao del Norte lead by a huge margin with a final score of 87.2 % followed by Surigao del Norte with 81.9 %. The other three provinces were Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del Norte, and South Cotabato.
Del Rosario said he will assure “that the staging of the annual sports fest in his province would be the best experience ever.”
“We assure them that we would give them the best Palaro, and that would be our battle cry. The best Palaro ever”, Del Rosario said.
The Palarong Pambansa Management Committee “took into consideration the results of the visits of the technical inspection team to the bidding provinces.”
DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro said that it was the readiness of Davao del Norte to host that set it apart from the rest.
“When we ranked them, and Davao del Norte at Tagum was ranked number one. Talagang handang handa na yung kanilang facilities at konti na lang, if any, ang kailangan i-fine tune o kaya ay ayusin”, he said.
Luistro added “they presented a very, very organized way of doing the Palaro, especially because the facilities are so oriented na hindi masyadong mahihirapan yung mga student athletes natin, technical officials, at yung mga manonood.”
Undersecretary for Regional Operations Rizalino Rivera expected Davao del Norte to stage the smoothest Palaro yet.
“I hope it’s going to be the smoothest Palarong Pambansa ever. From transportation, from the time the delegations arrive, their stay, security, everything”, he said.
Davao del Norte takes pride in its 11-hectare sports complex with a 3,000 capacity main grand stand fronted by an eight-lane rubberized track oval and a football field, an Olympic-sized swimming pool with an adjacent warm up pool and a 500-capacity grandstand, a gymnasium, two tennis courts, a club house and other facilities.
The Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex had hosted big sporting events such as the 2014 Privates Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) Games, the 2013 and 2014 Davao Region Athletic Association (DAVRAA) Games, and the 2013 Batang Pinoy Mindanao Leg. (davaotoday.com)
