IronMan organizer says Talisay City official’s info is wrong

He got it all wrong.

This was what Sunrise Events Inc. (SEI) general manager Princess Galura said, reacting to an article (not from Cebu Daily News) about a Talisay City official recommending the revocation of the permit to use part of the South Coastal Road (SCR) for the annual Cobra IronMan 70.3 Philippines for failing to fulfill a promise.

In an article that came out Friday, Talisay City’s head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office Alvin Santillana said he would ask Mayor Eduardo Gullas to deny the use of Talisay’s side of the SCR for the race because organizers failed to fulfill a promise made in the 2015 edition of the prestigious triathlon event to donate P300,000 to the Manipis Elementary School.

But Galura said, Santillana’s facts are wrong as it wasn’t the organizers who promised the financial assistance.

“The P300,000 donation was between Cobra Energy Drink and Manipis Elementary School. Not between the organizers. It was a direct deal between the school and main presenter of the race, which is Cobra,” she said.

Galura also said the check for the donation was ready since April and due for turnover this Monday.

The donation was from a side event of the 2015 Cobra IronMan 70.3 Philippines called the “Extra Mile” challenge. The fundraising activity of Cobra Energy Drink had volunteer triathletes run an extra 1-mile after the main IronMan race to come up with funds to be given to the school. Each triathlete who’d run the extra mile would mean an extra P1,000 pesos. 300 triathletes took part in the side event.

Galura clarified that Talisay City isn’t revoking the permit to use the SCR for the race and added that the mayor, an avid sportsman, has in fact already approved the use of the road.

“I am getting sick of this. Even Mayor Gullas is upset (about Santillana’s statements) too. He is not a spokesman of the Mayor and all of his info is incorrect,” she said, adding that SEI is planning to take legal action against Santillana. “Our lawyer will handle him.”

The Cobra IronMan 70.3 Philippines will be held on Aug. 6. The race starts and ends at the Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa. The 1.8 kilometer swim leg will be held at the Hilutungan Channel off the shores of Shangri-La. The 90-km bike route will pass through the cities of Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Cebu and Talisay. The 21-km run will be along the roads of Lapu-Lapu City.

This is the sixth year that Cebu is hosting the event, which will feature triathletes from the country and abroad.