PALO, Leyte- Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla announced that the province’s biggest sports arena, the Leyte Sports Development Center (LSDC), is undergoing major repair.
Petilla said that the repair of the facility is being funded by the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) to the tune of more than P70 million.
“We don’t have any counterpart funding for the repair of the Leyte Sports Development Center. What we did previously was have some minor repairs there,” the governor said.
The said facility, which is also known as Leyte Grandstand, served as the command center by the NDRRMC and other agencies, to include the UNOCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), after the region was pummeled by super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ in 2013.
According to the governor, the repair of the said grandstand is expected to be completed middle part of this year.
Petilla said that once completed, some activities relative to the holding of the annual fiesta of Tacloban City could be held there.
The said facility is often used for the cultural competition of the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festivals of Festival.
Also, the provincial government could make use of the facility if ever it decides to bid for the holding of the Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association (EVRAA) Meet, the governor said.
Asked if he plans to bid again for the provincial government of Leyte to host the annual Palarong Pambansa, Petilla dismissed this.
He said that considering that many provinces and cities in the country are vying for the hosting of the national sporting event, he doubts if Leyte could win the bidding.
“After all, we have just hosted the Palarong Pambansa in 2009. Chances are we might just be turned down if we bid for its hosting. There are about 80 provinces and around 150 cities that are vying to host the Palarong Pambansa,” Petilla said.
Meantime, the governor extended his congratulations to the city government of Ormoc under Mayor Richard Gomez for its performance in this year’s EVRAA.
The Ormoc city delegation was declared as the over-all champion in this year’s EVRAA.
Gov. Petilla said that with a very good sports development program of the city government under Mayor Gomez, he expects that the region could perform well in this year’s EVRAA.
Petilla said that athletes from the Leyte Sports Academy are already tested and could deliver the medals not only for Leyte but for the entire region.
(JOEY A. GABIETA with ROEL T. AMAZONA)
