(from left to right) Adolf Aguilar , DepEd Cebu City Asst. Schools Division Superintendent; Cebu City councilor Dondon Hontiveros; Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama; CCSC chairman John Pages; DepEd-7 Director Sal Jimenez; and Nimfa Bongo, DepEd Cebu City Schools Division Superintendent, pose for a group photo during Cebu City’s final bid presentation at the DepEd Central office in Manila. | Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines—- A delegation from Cebu City went to the Department of Education (DepEd) central office in Manila in full force on Friday, July 14, for the fourth and final phase of the bidding process for the hosting of next year’s Palarong Pambansa.
Cebu City was making its bid to host the annual sporting event that would involve student athletes.
Mike Rama led the city’s delegation along with Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) Chairman John Pages. They were joined by Director Sal Jimenez of DepEd Central Visayas (DepEd-7), DepEd Cebu City Assistant Schools Division Superintendent Adolf Aguilar, City Schools Division Superintendent Nimfa Bongo, and Councilor Dondon Hontiveros during their presentation.
Bid presentation
The Cebu City delegation, according to Pages, was the first to present their bid to DepEd officials. Education Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte was unavailable during the gathering.
Instead, their presentation was made under the supervision of members of the Palarong Pambansa Board.
“Vice President Sara Duterte, the DepEd secretary, was not in attendance yesterday but all the top Palaro board members, composed of DepEd Undersecretaries and Asst. Secretaries were present. Representing the PSC, which holds a seat in the Palaro board, was PSC Commissioner Walter Torres,” Pages told CDN Digital.
The others who were in attendance were Negros Occidental Governor Bong Lacson, Antique Governor Rhodora Javier Cadiao, and Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Manotoc.
Negros Occidental and Antique have also expressed their interest to host next year’s Palaraong Pambansa while Ilocos Norte was eyeing to have the sports competition in their province in 2025.
According to Pages, Antique was the second to present their bid followed by Negros Occidental.
“We presented first. After, we could not listen or watch the other presentations but ours was comprised of speeches from our Cebu City representatives, led by Mayor Rama, and we showed two video presentations: the Singapore-like Cebu City video and a Palaro – Cebu City video prepared by Anna Conejero,” Pages said.
Cebu City was given a 15 minutes to present their bid and show their video presentations and another 15 minutes to answer questions from the Palarong Pambansa board.
Final decision
Pages said that the announcement of the winning bidder is scheduled on August 5 during the closing ceremony of this year’s Palarong Pambansa hosted by Marikina City.
The final decision, he said, will come from Vice President Duterte and the Palarong Pambansa Board.
Cebu City has hosted the Palarong Pambansa in 1954 and in 1994. The 1994 edition paved the way to the construction of the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).
The city’s bid to host the meet in 2024 was somewhat special as it also coincides with the 30th anniversary of its second hosting of the Palaro.
In 2022, Cebu City already showed its strong intent to be next year’s host after it also hosted two Palarong Pambansa bubble tournaments.
This year, Cebu City also closed the CCSC for major upgrades that would include the replacement of the rubberized track oval, the expansion of the swimming pool’s practice area, and other major enhancements to pass DepEd’s standards.
Cebu City already gained the upper hand after it successfully hosted the Palarong Pambansa National Pre-Qualifying Meet – Cluster 3 last month that was participated by over a thousand athletes coming from Regions 6, 7, 8, and 9.
While the clustering meet was ongoing, DepEd and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) officials also conducted a technical inspection of Cebu City’s playing venues and billeting quarters.
RELATED STORIES
Cebu City showcases Palarong Pambansa hosting capability with pre-qualifying meet
Cebu City is ready to host Palarong Pambansa 2024
Cebu City to host Palarong Pambansa pre-qualifying cluster meet this June
/dcb