Team DailyPedia
Last October 30, the DepEd (Department of Education) announced that Albay will host Palarong Pambansa 2016. The province was chosen over Cagayan, the only other province vying to host the games.
The announcement, however, was apparently not taken well by the Cagayan LGU (local government unit). Posting under the Gobyerno Ti Umili Facebook page, the local government offered a side-by-side comparison of their facilities against those of Albay’s, with the intent of showing which province had the better venue.
“Pinaghandaan ng Cagayan ang Palarong Pambansa 2016. Lamang at angat tayo sa pasilidad para sa mga atleta. Ito ang ipinagkait ng DepEd at Palarong Pambansa Board sa mga batang atletang Pilipino. (Cagayan readied itself for Palarong Pambansa 2016. We have far superior facilities for athletes. This is what the DepEd and the Palarong Pambansa Board have deprived young Filipino athletes of.) Cagayan is more than ready for Palaro 2016!” reads the description of the side-by-side photo comparison album.
Then in a separate post, a comparison of the race tracks was made, it had the caption: “Ang Rubberized Track ng Cagayan ay tinalo ng ‘Davvun’ Track ng Albay.” Davvun is the Ibanag term for land or dirt. (Cagayan’s rubberized track was bested by Albay’s dirt track.)
Hundreds of comments rained down on the posts, irate at the LGU and Cagayan Governor Alvaro Antonio for being sore losers. Netizen Francis Doloiras advised the governor to act maturely, “A true leader knows how to accept unfavorable conclusion. Though you only represent your province you must also have to respect the decision of DEPED and consider the feelings of Albayanos.”
True enough, dozens of Albayanos took the post as a personal slight. They quickly took to the keyboards to defend their province. Francis Lim listed what Albay had to offer, “hintay hintay lang at makikita nyong mas maganda pa albay sports complex dyan… sa ngaun abangan nyo albay international airport at iba pang magagandang daan sa albay. (Just wait, Albay Sports Complex will be better than that. Wait also for the Albay International Airport and the good roads of Albay.)
However, a lot of people weren’t as coolheaded as Lim. Incensed, they took to insults and namecalling. Mark Magdaong called the governor, “iyakin,” (cry-baby) while Maw Pasion described him as a “douche bag.”
Ronald Pontuya, though an Albayano, wanted peace on both fronts. “To the LGU of Cagayan, if you have an issue with the result of the bidding, you should file it in the proper venue and not in Facebook. Be a true sportsman. To the people of Albay commenting here, please practice ‘Constant Kindness’ just like what our good governor Joey Salceda is always saying and doing. Bashing the LGU of Cagayan doesn’t help. We (Albay) has already been awarded the hosting, therefore we should always show politeness, hospitability, fairness and humility. Godbless everyone.”
A Cagayano, meanwhile, typed out a very lengthy reply explaining that there is no one to blame except the Cagayanos themselves. Here are excerpts of Raul Panecia’s post: “During the National Scuaa walang masabi ang mga delegates from different Universities from Luzon to Mindanao sa mga equipments at facilities ng Cagayan nung tayo ang host. Thumbs up ang mga athletes, staffs, coaches sa pagiging hospitable natin at sa native culture. What realy [sic] put us Cagayanos into shame is that maraming ABUSADO, MUKHANG PERA, SWAPANG, GAGO, DIMONYO, KURAKOT, MAPANG ABUSO, BASTOS na Trycicle Driver… (When we were the host during the National SCUAA (State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association), delegates from different Universities from Luzon to Mindanao could not say anything bad about our equipment and facilities. Athletes, staff, and coaches gave the thumbs’ up to our hospitality and native culture. What really put us Cagayanos to shame are the abusive and greedy tricycle drivers who are also demonic and devoid of manners.) So you think mananalo tayo sa bidding kung ganyan at ganyan ang nangyayari? …Ang problema lang yung mga taong nananamantala sa mga dayong delegates. Sila ang naglalagay sa Cagayan sa kahihiyan.” (Do you think we’ll win the bidding if this is what continues to happen? …The problem lies with the people who take advantage of delegates. They are the ones who bring shame to Cagayan.)
