CVIRAA: Puto maya w/o Sikwate?

-
Have you ever eaten/tasted puto maya without sikwate? Pwede, but it will be bland and tasteless. You want to taste the best version? Go the Dumaguete public market. When? Try the CVIRAA 2020. But something bothers me. The CVIRAA in Dumaguete looks like it will be puto maya without sikwate.

As of today (and I pray that I’m wrong), the CVIRAA will be held without a delegation from the Cebu Province Division of the Department of Education (DepEd). Who or what is the Cebu Province? Let’s refresh our memory, shall we? Issa Molde, Sisi Rondina, Gretchel Soltones and Justine Dorog. They once played in the Cebu Provincial Meet and later the CVIRAA of their time. So did the likes of the Don Bosco Boys’ Home football team, the Carmen boys and girls basketball team and many others. My personal sweet spot? His name is John Edward Aguilar. He’s a nobody if compared to the names mentioned above but he happens to be a somebody; he’s the team captain of a team called the Magis Eagles. He played for the Consolacion Central Elementary school at the 2014 Cebu Provincial Meet and played for the gold medal-winning Cebu Province elementary basketball team in the CVIRAA of that school-year. He’ll hold his head up high when he graduates on March 28. Now if the Cebu Province did not participate in the CVIRAA during their time, what would have happened to all of them?

As we write this piece, it looks like the Cebu Province is not sending a delegation to the CVIRAA for the simple reason that they are not staging a Cebu Provincial Meet, the qualifier for the CVIRAA 2020. According to reports, the DepEd Cebu Province can’t stage it since it doesn’t have the support of the Cebu Provincial Government. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t intend to pick a fight with Gov. Gwen on this. In fact, we should respect her decision. But my question for the DepEd Cebu Province is why are they so dependent on the provincial government? Why can’t they run a Cebu Provincial Meet without the governor’s support? They ought to remember that the lead organizer of the Provincial Meet is the DepEd, not the provincial government.

If the DepEd leaders were passionate sportsmen, they will realize that if there’s a will, there’s a way. Why throw to waste the various unit/district and municipal meets held earlier? Why hold the student-athletes hostage and punish them? They just need to be practical. Instead of staging the usual province wide meet where they bring in practically all towns to one venue for the Provincial Meet, they can opt to adopt a seeding scheme for all events: pre-select teams to converge at a venue to play in a weekend tournament. For football, they can invite the towns that are known to have stable football programs and who can find the means to play in a tournament. Top mentions here are Don Bosco Boys’ Home/KNF of Lilo-an, Consolacion Elementary School, Sisters of Mary School-Boystown of Minglanilla, Madridejos, Balamban, Barili and Alcoy. In basketball, the programs of Carmen, Minglanilla (SMS Boystown), Consolacion, San Francisco, Argao, Medellin and Pinamungajan are always ready to play. Send them a text about a tournament and they won’t even hesitate to join. They'll even dare say, ”Ugma na ta duwa!” Why do I say this? Because they’re all playing in a tournament right now! Moreover, they have the support of their local LGU and private supporters. Ask the Central Visayas Football Association for help and I’m sure they’ll be more than willing to stage a tournament of the top football teams for the Cebu Province, di ba Engineer Rod and Brod KNF? At the SBP, we can always bring in teams to a weekend tournament. As our battlecry says, “Para sa Bayan,” (not para sa bayad). Officials? What use are all your DepEd teachers who are mandated to also manage these tournaments? Please don't tell me they’ll apply the “no pay, no play policy” for officiating games. May I remind all that this is part of the job. The same concept can be adopted for all other sports.

Looking at the long term, the DepEd Cebu Province should also re-visit its format of games. From a geographical perspective, there is no need to bring in so many teams to one venue for the provincial meet. They can split up the province into geographical zones that can have its own qualifier tournaments. We already have the congressional districts in place and I’m sure the congressmen will more than willing to lend a hand. We can also go with a simple splitting of the province into four zones: Northwest, Northeast, Southwest and Southeast. Each zone will run its own sub-provincial meet qualifiers so that the Provincial Meet will showcase only four zones/teams, but featuring the best of the best.

The DepEd Cebu Province finds itself in a quandary today, but they should see this as an opportunity to stand up and do something noble. They shouldn’t fall to be part of the problem but stand up and provide a solution. To copy from my favorite source of quotable quotes (Noli Ayo), they can do two things. They can do something. Or they can do nothing.

Please make mine puto maya with sikwate.


Source: http://gourmettodaycookbook.com/ 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Milo BEST

-
Image
Bleacher Talk August 30, 2009 Milo BEST Milo and BEST, BEST and Milo = Milo BEST. Get it? It’s a play of words that has been there for the past 25 years and it looks like nothing can stop it. When one talks about THE basketball tournament for youth, Milo BEST is hands-down, a top-of-mind answer. And so why all the fuss? All because Cebu’s 2009 edition of the Milo-sponsored BEST SBP/Passerelle Twin Basketball Tournaments kicks off tomorrow at the University of San Carlos North Campus Gym. Once again, the best of age-group basketball get together for a friendly round of games in what is now known as the most followed tournament in the country. Coaches of the teams playing in the Milo-sponsored BEST SBP/Passerelle Twin Tournaments pose for a unity shot at the coaches organizational meeting. Many questions have been asked about Milo BEST, and so we felt it proper to provide answers to the FAQ’s about the event. For starters, the event is organized by the Basketball Efficiency and Scient...
Read more

Milo BEST: All Basics

-
Image
Milo BEST: All Basics The Basketball Efficiency Scientific Training (BEST) Center has been around for 31 years, and it has been at the forefront of doing the most basic of basketball teaching: sticking to the basics. This is the primary content of the Milo-sponsored BEST Center basketball clinics that have become an institution in Philippine basketball. “We teach the fundamentals, lahat ng klaseng fundamentals ng basketball — that’s our philosophy, dahil sabi nila, basketball is just a series of fundamentals,” said Nic, who was inspired to bring the concept of basketball clinics to the Philippines 31 years ago when budding players at that time had no formal training in the sport. The BEST Center program is divided into four levels. Level 1 focuses on dribbling and ballhandling fundamentals. Level 2 is focused on the basics of shooting. Level 3 is on Individual Defense while Level 4 is on Individual Offense. Every student who enrolls in the BEST Center starts with Level 1 and moves up ...
Read more

Dominate Visayas?

-
Bleacher Talk November 9, 2008 Dominate Visayas? Cebu has always boasted that it’s the hotbed of basketball south of Manila. But if it’s a real dominance over the rest of our neighbors in Visayas and Mindanao, this will have to cover all levels of basketball. At the higher level of basketball, Cebu is virtually unstoppable. The M. Lhuillier ballclub has always been tops in the semi pro circuit, representing Cebu in the Liga Plipinas and their previous leagues such as the MVBA and URBL. At the collegiate level, the University of the Visayas has always been tagged as the top collegiate team in the Vismin and is even considered a threat to the top teams of the UAAP and NCAA. We’re not counting the PBA and PBL here since these are more national in scope. But I’d like to see M. Lhuillier take their action to this level (this makes another story). The Central Visayas has also been our domain in the Palarong Pambansa even if we suffered a glitch when Bohol defeated Cebu City in the high schoo...
Read more