With 419 young athletes participating
TACLOBAN CITY – The regional office of the Department of Education (DepEd) has allocated an amount of P1.5 million to augment the budget for this year’s Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association (EVRAA) Meet.
The amount is on top of the P2 million allocation by the DepEd central office for the annual scholastic multi-sports competition that returns this year after three years of hiatus due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The competition is set to start on Monday (April 24) and is to end on April 27. It is co-hosted by the schools’ division offices of Leyte and Tacloban City.
A total of 419 athlete students from the 13 school division offices of the region are to participate in the largest regional sports event.
“Sports and physical education provide a great opportunity for children to head outside, get active, and focus on developing different skills. The benefits of sports in education are vast, and they aren’t just physical benefits,” DepEd Regional Director Evelyn Fetalvero said.
Along with the delegates from the 13 school divisions, local government officials from the six provinces and members of the House of Representatives from the region are expected to grace the opening program to be held at the Leyte Sports Development Center, this city.
Fetalvero also emphasized the importance of partnership and strong collaboration of stakeholders in ensuring the success of this big event.
“I laud the efforts of all the 13 schools division offices that despite the challenges in budget and other factors, they were able to prepare their athletes for the EVRAA. I truly understand all their concerns and rest assured that the regional office is doing its best to address those challenges,” she said.
Winners of the EVRAA will represent the region for the upcoming Palarong Pambansa which will be hosted by the local government unit of Marikina, Dep-Ed National Capital Region, and the Marikina City schools division office.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
