On the CCSC and Palarong Pambansa

The quick response of the lifeguard at the Cebu City Sports Center swimming pool last Monday certainly saved the life of a twelve-year-old girl from drowning. This was not the first time that near drowning incidents happened in the pool. Since its operation in 1994 there have been about 3 or more such incidents all of which happily did not result in any fatality. Credit this to the hands-on management of Mr. Ricky Ballesteros, the CCSC manager.

Actually the Center’s pool is manned by four professional lifeguards, two of whom keep watch on the swimmers every minute they are in the water. Supervised by Dr. Gil Ramas, a swimming specialist, these guards are not only trained for rescue work, they are also competent in administering first aid measures like CPR. It was the properly rendered CPR which saved the life of that girl as well as of the other drowning swimmers in the past.

It is a source of pride to Cebuanos that the CCSC has been considered a model among the 14 DepEd constructed sports centers in the country. While other such facilities have deteriorated and are no longer functional, the CCSC has maintained its functionality at top-rate level, servicing daily the sports needs of thousands of Cebu youth in the last 18 years. More important, the Center has been self sustaining financially all these years despite its availment of free use for DepEd’s sports activities. In contrast, most other centers are being subsidized by the local governments where they are located, while others have been entrusted to private groups who operate them as commercial ventures.

Every year the CCSC serves as the venue of the Cebu City Olympics, a regular sports competition among city based public and private schools. It also opens its facilities to local tertiary schools as well as to private companies for their intramural games and of course, it provides an excellent arena to DepEd’s regional meets which are sometimes held in this City.

The CCSC being on tip-top condition, some people are asking why Cebu City or Cebu province has refrained from bidding to host the Palarong Pambansa. Other LGU’s have hosted the games two times (Lucena, Tacloban, Bacolod, and Dipolog cities). These, despite their limited billeting capacities, less functional arenas, and out-of-the-way locations.

Next year, 2013, is the turn of the Visayas regions to host the games. What LGU’s are interested? The report is that Bacolod City is, and Dumaguete City too. But why not Cebu City? It can be a joint hosting – since the leaderships in the city and province seem now vibrating to the same wavelength. Yet so far there’s no sign that any or both governments are eying for DepEd’s greatest show.

This is unfortunate because the socio-economic benefits of playing host to the Palaro are for reaching. Imagine the ten thousand athletes and officials who will come to the city to do their thing – and spend their millions. Imagine the tourists who will be visiting the Queen City of the South. Business stimulus has been on the lips of local business leaders. Tourism has been the craze of tourism promoters in this part of the country. Why are they not lobbying in the Palaro?

When Cebu City hosted the games way back in 1994 it made history in several counts. First, it was the first Palaro in which every individual athlete (and of course, official) was provided with a coat and bedding set in spruced up government schools complete with water and lighting facilities and secured by round-the-clock peace officers. Second, it was the first one in which every delegation was supplied with its full rice requirement plus 800 kilos of fresh meat daily, plus mineral water, plus eight PUJ’s for its transport need. And third, our opening extravaganza and the concluding “pakulo” awed our visitors in terms of quality and grandeur of presentation. In fact, the DepEd people still in service are still talking about that 1994 Palarong Pambansa.

But since that time we never dared a repeat performance. Why?