DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines—After initially withdrawing from hosting the Philippine National Games, Dumaguete City has agreed to host the tournament from May 27 to June 2 after obtaining an assurance from the provincial government of Negros Oriental that it would co-host the event.
Dumaguete Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria told the Inquirer that Commissioner Jolly Gomez of the Philippine Sports Commission came to Dumaguete on Tuesday to offer the hosting to the city one more time.
“I agreed to host the PNG on condition that the province of Negros Oriental co-host the games and Governor Roel Degamo agreed,” Sagarbarria said.
Most of the athletic facilities in Dumaguete City, such as the Lamberto Macias Sports and Cultural Center, the Gov. Mariano Perdices Memorial Coliseum and the Lorenzo G. Teves Aqua Center, are owned by the province of Negros Oriental.
Sagarbarria said that he also got the commitment of Silliman and Foundation Universities that they would help in hosting the games.
Sagarbarria had earlier written Commissioner Gomez to inform him that the city was declining the staging of the event in the wake of the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that jolted the province last February.
It was the second major disaster to hit the area in less than two months. Flash floods triggered by Tropical Storm Sendong claimed numerous lives and destroyed millions of pesos in property in Dumaguete and Negros Oriental last December.