DAVNOR OUT TOO
Davao del Norte Governor Anthony G. del Rosario also withdraws the province’s participation in the Batang Pinoy National Championships
“Much as the Province of Davao del Norte would like to participate in the 2018 Batang Pinoy National Championship in Baguio City.” Anthony del Rosario Governor, Davao del Norte
Davao del Norte Governor Anthony G. del Rosario yesterday withdrew the province’s stint in the Batang Pinoy National Championship 2018, a day after Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio cancelled the trip of the 301-member Davao City delegation, citing safety concerns brought about by Typhoon Ompong.
Del Rosario, in a statement furnished to this writier by provincial sports coordinator at 4:42 a.m. yesterday, said, “Much as the Province of Davao del Norte would like to participate in the 2018 Batang Pinoy National Championship in Baguio City, as a gesture of sup- port ot the grassroots development program of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), we regret to say that we would skip this year’s event.”
He said that the typhoon, which already entered Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) as reported by Pagasa, has posed “serious concerns like possible landslide, torrential downpour and heavy flooding - aggravated by possible flight cancellation that threaten the safety of our 95 DavNor delegates”.
He added that they appreciated the joint efforts of the PSC and the city government of Baguio to address pressing safety concerns but they cannot take the lives of their athletes, coaches and delegation staff at risk.
Gulanes, in a separate Facebook interview late Wednesday evening, said the delegation was scheduled to depart at 7:30 a.m. yesterday via Cebu Pacific.
“Lisod maipit sa byahe, what if naay grabe nga landslide kay super typhoon bya (It’s difficult to be stranded, what if there will be major landslide since it’s a super typhoon ),” he said
However, a handful of delegates from Davao City will still compete “at their own risk”.
Meanwhile, SunStar Cebu reporter Richiel Chavez said Cebu Province delegation is already in Baguio City while Cebu City delegation is staying at the PhilSports Arena dormitory while waiting for the typhoon to pass.