City vows continued support for its athletes, coaches

“We continue to be very supportive of the development of the city’s sports program”

Thus, declared Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan in a media forum, May 10, at City Hall where he was the Acting Mayor then since Mayor Benjamin Magalong was on an official trip to the United Arab Emirates.

As an avowed sports enthusiast, he pointed out that “although medyo kulang pa ang incentives ng ating mga athletes, maybe we could increase these in the long run.”

As co-author of the Baguio City Sports Code, Olowan stressed his full support for the establishment of a multi-purpose sports facility at Burnham Park.

Adopted in 2021, the Code aims to further strengthen sports development and promotion for the Summer Capital’s athletes, coaches and sports enthusiasts including providing them with more opportunities to excel in their chosen athletic endeavours.

It also calls for the creation of a city sports council with the Mayor as chairperson and the head of the city council’s committee on sports as co-chair.

Local sports journalist Pigeon Lobien of the Media for Sports Development (MSD), a city accredited civil society organization, acknowledged the city’s continued support for its athletes and coaches including the positive impact of the Baguio City Sports Code in terms of training and incentives.

“Our athletes and coaches are truly excited about the adoption of the Code that was a dream which came into fruition and aims to help them excel even more in local and international competitions,” he disclosed.

Pigeon also expressed hope that the various planned sports facilities will be completed and the formation of the city sports council would happen soon where the MSD could be of help.

Team Baguio was declared overall champion during the recent Cordillera Administrative Region Athletic Association (CARAA) Meet held in the city. – Gaby B. Keith