TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Rep. Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang pointed out that sports development will be one of his major priority thrusts once given a fresh mandate by the people so that the province will not be left out in terms of the improvement of its existing sports facilities and the discovery of young and talented athletes from the grassroots level.
Mangaoang, who is serving as the caretaker congressman of Mountain Province, said he will refile his pending bill for the establishment of the Kalinga Sports Development Center for this to be enacted into law and provided with the required funding in the 18th Congress to jumpstart the desired improvement of the province’s sports facilities, the future training ground for upcoming sports enthusiasts from the different parts of Kalinga.
Mangaoang’s bill seeking the establishment of the Kalinga Sports Development Center was approved on third and final reading in the House of Representatives but its counterpart bill in the Senate authored by Senator Manny Pacquiao has yet to be acted upon and that it will be impossible for the same to be passed by the Senate in the remaining limited session days on May 20 to June 7.
“We will pursue the passage of the bill in the 18th Congress because we already received assurances from our fellow congressmen and some senators that our proposed bill for the Kalinga Sports Development Center will be acted upon. There are limited session days in the 17th Congress when we resume our session by the third week of May that is why we do not expect too much on the passage of our bill,” Mangaoang stressed.
According to him, one of the thrusts of the sports center will be the rehabilitation and upgrading of the province’s sports facilities within the compound of the Department of Education–Division of Kalinga to make it at par with international sports standards aside from developing the potentials of athletes coming from the different parts of the province.
Among the facilities that will be constructed through the assistance of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and other sports-oriented agencies will be the Olympic-sized swimming pool, rubberised track oval, indoor sports structures and the upgrading of its sports venues so that Kalinga can host prestigious local, regional, national and international sports competitions soonest.
Mangaoang emphasized the development of the province’s sports facilities should be done through the individual and collective efforts of the concerned government agencies and the local governments aside from the support that will be provided by the representative of the legislative district, thus, it is unfair for some quarters to fingerpoint on whom to blame for the failure of the province to improve its sports venues, unlike what happened in Apayao where its sports center was significantly upgraded through the collective efforts of all stakeholders.
He claimed the development of the province’s sports center should have been the initiative of the provincial government in close coordination with the municipal governments and other stakeholders while the role of the representative of the lone district is to extend assistance in sourcing out support from national sports agencies willing to help in the development of grassroots sports provided there is close coordination and teamwork among those involved in the planning, programming and implementation of the noble project. By HENT
