DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The city government of Davao has allotted PHP69.3 million as its counterpart to fund the conduct of the Palarong Pambansa 2019.
In the press conference during the signing of Memorandum of Agreement between the City and the Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday, April 8, City Administrator Atty. Zuleika Lopez said the city government has allocated P69,332,700 as the “commitment of the city in hosting the Palarong Pambansa.”
The commitment of the city government is among the considerations why the education department and other stakeholders have chosen Davao City as host of this year’s national games.
DepEd secretary Leonor Briones on Monday’s press conference also emphasized the said consideration.
Among the commitment that Briones mentioned was the provision of various services that will cater to the needs of the delegates of the national sports event.
“Buses will be available to fetch delegations traveling by plane or sea upon arrival from the Davao International Airport or the Sasa port,” Briones said.
The city government will also provide service vehicles for delegations for marketing and other errand purposes and separate air-conditioned vehicles to ferry members of the national working committees and technical officials to and from the billeting quarters and playing venues.
Each delegation will also receive 15 sacks of rice, 70 kilos of beef and chicken, or its appropriate equivalent for the whole duration of the event and fruits like banana, durian, mangosteen, pineapple, and pomelo.
Delegates will also have a free wifi connection for authorized users in all playing venues while drinking waters will be available in all the playing venues.
“Very important are the drinking stations because this is an athletic competition and athletes need drinking water all the time,” Briones said.
Part of the funding allotment of the city government will be for the food of security personnel who will ensure the safety of all delegates and visitors during the event, Lopez said.
“We allotted PHP10 million for the food of our security personnel. This is not just (for the) regional and city police. We also requested (the) battalions (from) other areas because we already have delegates coming in,” Lopez added.
Assistant City Administrator Atty. Lawrence Bantiding also told reporters that the city government will deploy around 2,000 security personnel during the duration of the Palarong Pambansa 2019, from April 26 to May 4.
He added that security measures are already in place, including for those participants who will be arriving earlier starting this week. (davaotoday.com)
