Mindanaotoday.com | Sports program changes lives
By: Churchill Aguilar On the road with Doh
A success story in local governance that I personally witnessed and would like to share here was the innovation introduced by the former municipal mayor of Pres. Manuel Roxas in Zamboanga del Norte, Atty Jan Hendrik Vallecer, all throughout his three terms of office as local chief executive.
As a backgrounder, the municipality of Pres. M.A. Roxas was beset with poverty and backwardness as a significant number of the population lacked the skills and the education to keep up with the globalization needed in bigger industries outside of its jurisdiction.
The former mayor explored strategies to alleviate poverty specifically by putting a premium on his people and so he endeavored to improve the skills and education of inhabitants starting off with a very strong sports program to build self-confidence, gather enough experiences of success, and forge a strong collective spirit of identity as Roxasnons.
He embarked on an extensive sports program that equipped the indigent athletes with skills that became their ticket to university scholarships and eventually bring them out of poverty.
At the early part he enjoined stakeholders to sponsor sports events starting with just basketball leagues among inter-barangays which then grew popular and paved the way for the creation of an intensive program for the different sports in the municipality. Active scouting of potential athletes from the poorest of the poor was then launched and potential indigents were drafted and trained under the LGU program all throughout the year.
The beginning was an uphill battle especially in funds as the municipality had to build first the appropriate facilities such as basketball courts, volleyball courts, and football fields as well as all other facilities and equipment for the other sports events.
With the help of the private sector over the years, the municipality was able to put up state of the art facilities that became the training grounds of athletes on the following events: Basketball, Sepak Takraw, Taekwondo, Volleyball, Boxing, Table tennis, Football/Futsal, Track and Field.
The extensive training in place all year round for all athletes has eventually produced top players in the different sports events. After winning championships in the regional and national level, some of Roxas athletes have achieved stardom in their sports events and Roxas has become the favorite LGU for university recruiters to cast potential players.
Pres. Manuel A Roxas continues to forge a brand as the “Home of the Champions” as it continues to bring home the bacon in various sports leagues in the region and the country as a whole. At the launching of the comprehensive sports program in 2018, the Municipal Team has garnered 16 awards in different sports events in provincial and regional level. It continues to harvest awards in different sports competitions as the players get better and better with its continuous training.
While the sports program has brought indigents back to school and planted in them the seed to succeed, the comprehensive sports program has also made positive impact to the community in general.
The sports program provided its indigent youth the access to world-class tertiary education and a lucrative career in the big leagues. Unthinkable a decade ago in what used to be a laidback locality. To date, new cultures of striving for success, spirit of competitiveness and strong group identity have replaced the once laidback and sleepy town to a vibrant community.
*Mr. Churchill Aguilar is an Organizational Development (OD) consultant. He has engaged with over 300 LGUs and private companies in building capacities to maximize Human Resource productivity. He can be reached at cgaleadershipcommunication@gmail.com.
###