ILAGAN, Isabela—A first-time visitor expressed profound admiration to a tricycle driver who refused to accept the P60 being paid to him, and collected only the prescribed fare from the City Sports Complex to their hotel.
On his Facebook account, Edward Obiena thanked driver Efren Casasola of Barangay Camunutan here for his honesty and dedication to his job. Casasola’s tricycle bears body number 1939.
Obiena is the uncle and personal coach of lone Filipino gold medalist Francis Edward Obiena, who competed in the Southeast Asian Youth Games hosted by this city. The Obienas represented the Philippines in the pole vault.
“He said the fare from the Sports Complex to DA [Hotel] was P30, so we paid P60 because we were two passengers, but he returned the excess P30 because the fare was for both of us after all. He also took us through a short cut. We salute you, driver sir,” Obiena posted in the vernacular on his Facebook wall.
Reynato G. Unso, secretary-general of the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association that organized the event, also praised Ilagueños for their warm hosting of both the 12th SEA Youth Games and the 2017 Ayala Philippine National Open Invitations Athletics Championships.
“We feel at home in the City of Ilagan,” Unso told members of the press on Thursday.
In the same press conference, Ricky Laggui, General Services Officer and acting coordinator for the twin events, said Ilagan police recorded only two minor vehicular incidents unrelated to the hosting of the Patafa-run games. “There was no recorded crime since the events started,” he said.
Thousands of people proceeded to the City Sports Complex as early as 5 a.m. to watch the athletic events. Tricycle drivers like Casasola were very happy because they made good profits.
City Councilors Jayeveson Diaz and Antonio Montereal Jr., Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Committee on Youth and Sports Development of the City Council of Ilagan respectively, told Manila Standard the growing enthusiasm in sports contributed positively to the government’s war on drugs.
“As far as I know, there are 482 cases that we in the city government successfully facilitated in the early stage of implementation of Oplan Tokhang,” Montereal revealed.
“The PNP was very surprised by the cooperation of the affected individuals who all trooped to the City Sports Complex during post-tokhang activities, way before these international events started,” he added.
Diaz added that community development programs such as the Manpower Skills Training Program and various scholarships offered by the city government provided employment opportunities to the youth. “This is our modest way to support the government’s war on drugs,” he said.