'SURF IN THE CITY'. Some of the competitors of the last leg of the Philippine Surfing Championship Tour (PSCT) in Borongan City that concluded Saturday (Dec. 21, 2019). La Union top surfer Jay-R Esquivel was the big winner in the Surf in the City event. (Photo courtesy of Surf in the City)
TACLOBAN CITY -- Surfers from La Union and Siargao Island dominated the last leg of the Philippine Surfing Championship Tour (PSCT) in Borongan City, Eastern Samar.
La Union top surfer Jay-R Esquivel was the big winner in the "Surf in the City" event held in Borongan City that concluded on Saturday.
Esquivel is the first-ever PSCT surfer to win both longboard and shortboard divisions of a leg in the tour.
This is his major win after placing second in the second leg of the PSCT held in Calicoan last October 2019.
His fellow surfer from La Union, Benito Nerida, ranked second in the longboard division while John Mark Tokong of Siargao placed second in the shortboard division.
Meanwhile, Ikit Agudo of Siargao topped the women's division in longboard with Vea Estrellado of Sorsogon placing second.
The women's shortboard division was dominated by Nilbie Blancada of Siargao, with Daisy Valdez of La Union coming in second.
In the Juniors Shortboard, Jomarie Ebueza of La Union won in the said division, while Gabriel Lerog of Siargao placed second.
In the best local surfer award, the recipients were Marionil Capacite, Jerand Aboy, and Reckynalds Rosel.
Esquivel said he is used to surfing in Borongan site which he calls “beach break” for him.
Daisy Valdez, who was a bronze medalist in the recently held Southeast Asian Games, said those who wanted to learn surfing must learn how to enjoy waves, whether it be small or big.
“It doesn't need to be small or big, what you need is to enjoy and have that good wave and good execution to have a good score,” Valdez said.
A total of 103 surfers from 17 parts of the country joined the national surfing competition in Borongan City.
Borongan City Vice Mayor Emmanuel Tiu Sonco, who represented the city government at the awarding ceremony, announced that Borongan will be hosting again the next Surf in the City.
“We believe that our city will someday become a mainstream destination for surfing," he said.
Surfriders Club of Eastern Samar (ESCS) President Rupert Ambil is optimistic that local government units in the province of Eastern Samar continue to support the promotion of surfing, not only the spots but also in the training of local surfers.
“Creating competition is the first step to promote and develop surfing. The next step for this is to create a program,” Ambil said.
“To make us competitive, we must invest. When we say invest, this means time, resources, learning and have a goal, which is to have a representative for surfing from Region 8 competing in the SEA Games,” he added.
Ambil thanked the Borongan city government for the support in hosting the event, including the communities and volunteers who made the event a success.
Borongan Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda expressed hopes that this will help in changing the image of their city from being known as a typhoon-ravaged city into a place with huge tourism potential.
Aside from the long coastline along Baybay Boulevard that is ideal for surfing, Agda said the city has other tourist spots such as waterfalls and caves.
“Aside from our natural resources, the best thing about Borongan is our people, the character of our residents. We have centuries-long traditions of hospitality that we live by. Borongan is a hospitable city,” Agda added.
Borongan City is a fourth-class city and capital of Eastern Samar province with a population of 69,297.
The city is 187 kilometers northeast of Tacloban, the regional capital. (PNA)
