Sensational run
(CITY GOVERNMENT OF ORMOC)
TACLOBAN CITY– The annual Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association (EVRAA) Meet came to a close on Friday (May 10) with the host city of Ormoc the runaway winner.
Of the 13 school divisions that participated in the regional sports competitions, Ormoc amassed 212 gold medals, which is higher by 41 compared to the gold medals garnered by the 12 other participating school divisions which have a combined gold medals of 171.
Overall, Ormoc collected 399 gold, silver, and bronze medals. The second with the most number of medals was the Leyte delegation with 154, of which 47 were gold medals.
This is the third time that Ormoc City emerged as the overall champion of the EVRAA Meet.
Maasin City landed third with 22 gold medals and 69 medals in all while Tacloban City has the fourth biggest number of gold at 20 and 89 total medals.
The city of Catbalogan in Samar ended last with only two gold medals and 32 medals in all.
All gold winners are automatically considered as Eastern Visayas delegates for this year’s Palarong Pambansa which is to be held in Cebu City in July.
Local government units also offered cash incentives to all medalists, ranging from P2,000 to P5,000 for individual sports and P10,000 to P30,000 for medal winners in team sports.
The regional sports competition, which started on May 5 and was participated by more than 9,000 young athletes who contested in more than 20 sports disciplines, is supervised by the Department of Education (DepEd) though the local government unit where the event is held mainly bankrolled it.
For this year’s EVRAA, the city government of Ormoc allocated around P100 million.
Rep. Richard Gomez, former mayor of Ormoc City, said that he is focusing on sports for the reason that this could serve as an effective platform for youth not to engage in illegal activities like substance abuse.
“It’s okay to spend big than see our young people engaging in illegal drug activity,” he said.
This year’s EVRAA in Ormoc City saw some big names in the entertainment industry performing before the opening and closing ceremonies.
Among them were Andrew E., Julie Ann San Jose, Alex Gonzaga, and Ely Buendia of the iconic Eraserheads.
Over 2,000 policemen were deployed throughout the duration of the EVRAA.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
