DAVAO CITY – After the successful 2018 Davao Regional Athletic Association (DAVRAA) Meet, Davao City is again hosting the regionals next year.
This developed after Compostela Valley province begged off to host the 2019 DAVRAA because its sports facility is not yet ready for next year when it is supposed to host the sporting event.
It was a wish granted for Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who asked the Department of Education (DepEd) that Davao City will host the regional meet again because she wants more “hosting practice” in preparation for the 2019 Palarong Pambansa.
Davao City is bidding for the hosting of next year's national games.
"I asked Department of Education if we can host DAVRAA 2019 and they responded that it is possible and we will just discuss it but in principle, it’s already approved," she said.
Duterte-Carpio said the city will be using the sports facilities at the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin) Mintal campus, which will be completed next year.
The mayor even asked the local chief executives in the region to allow Davao City to handle DAVRAA.
DepEd XI regional director Alberto Escobarte said, "It's an opportunity and I immediately said yes to the good city mayor because ComVal begged-off for their turn to host the regional meet," he said.
Escobarte said Compostela Valley Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy had earlier told him that if it would be the turn of his province to host, he would turn it over to Davao del Norte Governor Anthony del Rosario. Uy said he would need two years to prepare for he hosting.
"Now that the Davao City Mayor proposed to host again, it makes our job of looking for a host easier," he said.
He said the successive hosting of a certain local government is not new because Davao del Norte, for example, hosted DAVRAA in 2013 and 2014 before its hosting of Palarong Pambansa in 2015.
Escobarte would also suggest to the city government to conduct the regional meet as early as January so that the working committee will have enough time to prepare for the Palarong Pambansa, which would be held earlier because of the mid-term election in May.
"The Palarong Pambansa is usually done in the last week of April or first week of May by way of practice. But, there will be an election in May 2018, so the Palaro should be conducted earlier," he said.
Escobarte said he would issue a memorandum to formalize the hosting once again of the city in next year's DAVRAA. Davao City is this year’s DAVRAA overall champion. (Armando Fenequito Jr/PNA)
