Dumaguete, the provincial capital of Negros Oriental, and its city mayor, Felipe Antonio Remollo bagged top honors in the recent 4th Philippine Sports Tourism Awards (PSTA) held at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga.
The city was named government event organizer of the year 2019, its second in a row, while Remollo was hailed top sports tourism personality in the public sector.
Known as “The City of Gentle People”, it has played host to the Dumaguete Triathlon, Children’s Games, the Dumaguete Dragon Boat Challenge and the Beach Volleyball Republic On Tour.
Dumaguete has also hosted the Little League Philippines Series, National Frisbee ultimate Championship, Philippine National Games, Batang Pinoy, Philippine Super Liga Spike on Tour, 1st Southeast Asian Beach Handball, the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association, and the Visayas Regional Selection Camp of Jr. NBA Philippines.
The Philippine University Games has also made the city their preferred venue because of its strategic location, splendid sports facilities, affordable cost of living, conducive environment, and warm hometown crowd.
“We have been positioning the city as a sports hub in the central Philippines by organizing and hosting national events, and this award will top off all the tourism awards we have received. I always believe that sports is a great equalizer and unifier of people across economic, religious or political classes,” says Remollo at the PSTA awarding ceremonies.
The local chief executive shared the sports tourism personality award (private sector) with Metro Pacific Investments Corp. chairman and sports patron Manuel V. Pangilinan.
He disclosed that Dumaguete will host this year the 20th Asean School Games, the biggest sporting event among students within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which was postponed last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Organized by Selrahco Management and Consultancy Services and supported by Clark Development Corp. Supported by Clark Development Corp. with the City of Mabalacat, Smart Communications, Universal Robina Corp., Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc., the 4th PSTA also awarded 14 other private and public organizations and personalities who have contributed significantly to the sports tourism sector in 2019.
