An alternative come-on

WE DO NOT know exactly whether newly-assumed

First District Rep. and presidential son Paolo

Duterte is serious in his reported statement that he may decide to join the fray for Speakership of the

House.

We are hoping though that it was only his manifestation of temper brought about by the alleged dragging of his name in the heated fight for the leadership of the House. And if it was indeed Speaker-aspirant Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano that he took a dig at, then we already know where Pulong’s support for the race is for.

But for now we can only imagine the way Congressman Pulong has introduced himself in the national legislative body.

Of course Pulong’s making good his “threat” to join the race has its other dimension. It would be an acid test to the pronouncement of his father-President that should the younger Duterte throw his hat, his father would resign.

Whatever comes out of this development is worth watching.

We join Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio in welcoming the recognition of Davao City by the organizers of the Alveo 70.3 Ironman as the Best Iron Man Host of the world triathlon competition. The city has already hosted the event twice with the second hosting done this year.

Based on the reported number of participants and spectators coming from all over the world, it is safe to conclude that the city hosted well the event during its first staging in this part of Mindanao. And that can be attributed to nobody else but the leadership of the city as well as the people.

The mayor herself said that hosting the Ironman competition boosted the tourism industry of the city this year. In other words, allowing the holding of big sporting events like the Ironman is some kind of discovery of one tourism come-on in lieu of the absence of others that foreign and local tourists usually seek to find in their destination.

We all know that Davao City lacks tourist amenities, thus, what is happening is that our city has become a simple entry and exit point for tourists wanting to enjoy the call of the beaches. That is, they land in Davao City and then transfer to rides going to the nearby Island Garden City of Samal where wonderful beach resorts are the major beacon. And they fly out from here as well.

With the accolade given the city as Best Host of the Ironman competition perhaps the local government can start exploring possibilities of developing facilities that will allow the hosting of other international sports competitions.

Bacolod is known for its world class football field; Siargao for its challenging waves for the surfers of the world. Maybe Davao, other than nailing the honor of best Ironman host, can think of other world-crazed sporting event that it can put up facilities for ably hosting.

Without doubt, having two international sports competitions in the city will bring in more tourists consisting of sportsmen and enthusiasts. It will also be a big boost to the local economy since those who will be coming are likely big spenders.

After all, most participants to the events have corporate sponsors. The spectators that come are mostly well-off. Thus, they can very well afford to splurge money for the duration of their stay in the city.

Perhaps now is the right time for the city’s sports leaders to sit down and think of what events the local government can work on in providing world class facilities. Maybe they can think of tennis. This sport is something lost in the city.

Why not find ways of re-introducing tennis as a major sporting event by first putting up public tennis courts where enthusiasts can freely use?

Think about this gentlemen and ladies.