Davao to Launch Summer Sports for Peace Festival on April 25

The Mayor Duterte Game Plan continues this hot summer with the launching of the Davao City Summer Sports for Peace Festival on April 25 at 4:00 p.m. at the People’s Park

City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte will lead the opening program together with City Administrator Melchor Quitain, City Tourism Officer Lisette Marquez and City Sports Development Division OIC William “Butch” Ramirez.

“Various sports activities are also lined up this summer as still part of the Mayor Duterte Game Plan,” said Ramirez during a meeting with representatives of the national sports associations held Tuesday at his office in Almendras gym.

The inaugural event is a fun run on April 27 at 5:00 a.m. in an out and back course at the Rizal Park. It will be held in coordination with the Vantage Sports of race organizer Kenneth Sai.

“We’re tying up with various event organizers also to help us make this a really successful program for the community,” Ramirez said.

Also included in the summerfest are the 4th Daba-Daba Ultimate Frisbee on May 2-4 at the Tionko field; downhill mountain bike in Barangay Maa; and the first Davao Dragon Boat Festival on May 1-4 at the Baywalk, Queensland in Barangay Matina Aplaya, this city.

“We’re also holding different sports clinics particularly for the barangays,” said Ramirez.

Among those included already in the free sports clinics are basketball, volleyball, futsal, arnis, chess and cycling. Most of these will be conducted at the Almendras gym.

“We will also hold free seminars for sports marketing, sports medicine, events organizing and sportswriting,” said Ramirez, a former chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission.

The summerfest is part of the Duterte Game Plan that has a barangay sports development program; individual and team sports competition management; facilities, equipment and physical plan; sports medicine; and school based sports development program.

“We want to make Davao City a healthy, proactive and livable community through sports and recreation,” said Ramirez.

For those interested to join the seminars and clinics, just contact tel. No. 22-0031 or visit CSDD-CMO office located at 2nd floor, DILG Building at the Almendras gym compound, he added.

Davao Norte governor Hails Resilience of Dabaonons

Governor Rodolfo del Rosario’s 7th State of the Province Address (SOPA) generously paid tribute to the courage and capacity of the Dabaonon people to readily bounce back from unfortunate events.

In his annual report to the people, the governor attributed the unprecedented progress the province has achieved despite the financial and climatic challenges last year, to the resiliency of his people.

He recalled that Dava o del Norte started the year 2013 “stuck in waist-deep” mud brought by tropical depression Pablo the previous year and the ensuing flooding caused by the series of low pressure areas.

“Armed only with sheer Dabaonon determination, and the utmost trust in God Almighty, we found our way to where we are today,” the governor beamed.

Del Rosario said the achievement of the province in pursuing the P.E.O.P.L.E. development strategy has inculcated among development stakeholders, the value of putting a human face to development.

The governor noted significant achievements on health, education, and income opportunities, among other essential government programs and services.

These include 4.8 percent prevalence of underweight children under-5 years of age in 2013, as compared to the Millennium Development Target for the Philippines which is pegged at 13.6 percent, as well as, the Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition (CROWN) award of the province, among others.

The governor also bared Davao del Norte became a billionaire province at the end of 2013, courtesy of efficient tax collection, which posted a 13 percent increase in real property tax, as well as, 6.5 percent increase in other local sources.

The celebrated Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex (DNSTC), which is the flagship program under the public-private partnership component, made the province the sports capital in the Davao region.

Pro-active preparedness and mitigation measures have further resulted in the achievement of zero casualty in the province since Typhoon Pablo.

Pressing global concerns have prompted the governor to integrate disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) and climate-change adaptation (CCA), including the ASEAN integration into his six-point strategy.

This is to protect important development gains and ensure that Davao del Norte will benefit from the regional liberalization.

“Our over-arching goal is to make our communities adaptive to climate change and resilient to disaster risks, while increasing the competitiveness both in skills and products, and ensure linkages within and outside of our Davao del Norte,” he said. (PNA)LAP/ASA/ldp/LAM/LTReyes