Hope through sports in Iligan

The forthcoming Children’s Games in Iligan City is designed to give hope to the thousands of children displaced by the ongoing conflict in Marawi City.

Philippine Sports Commission chair Butch Ramirez said the three-day sportsfest would serve as an instrument of peace and relief for the children of the refugees affected by the ongoing fighting between government forces and terrorist groups.

“It will not resolve the problems of the Muslim children,” said Ramirez. “But we will be there to give them a fresh air of hope. Enjoy, play and keep their minds away from the war.”

Just 30 kilometers from strife-torn Marawi in Lanao del Sur, Iligan City has become the closest place of refuge for the Marawi people.

Tentatively set July 15 to 17, the sportsfest designed for out-of-school and school-based kids 12 years old and below will provide the much-needed break from the daily sight of military trucks, soldiers and checkpoints.

The Games in Davao City attended by over 600 kids last month happened almost the same time when the Maute terrorist group began its takeover of Marawi. President Duterte subsequently put Mindanao under martial law.

“In the midst of global terrorism, national terrorism like the Marawi case, the more I am focused on using sports as a vehicle for peace,” said Ramirez, the chief architect of the Sports For Peace program of the government.

Ramirez would push for the Iligan Games after the Cordillera leg on July 11-13.