Laguna hosts INC Unity Games 2012
February 6, 2012 9:41 am
STA. CRUZ, Laguna, Feb. 5 –- Some 20,000 delegates from Group D comprising the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Metro Manila South and Metro West will gather at the Laguna Sports Complex in Barangay Bubukal here on Feb. 11 and 18 to compete in different sporting events, officials on Sunday said.
Laguna provincial administrator Atty. Leonardo Ragaza Jr. said the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) chose Sta. Cruz town as one of the venues for their Unity Games, the second multi-sport event and largest athletic competition of INC to be held in Luzon.
Ragaza said aside from the municipality of Sta. Cruz, the towns of Victoria and Pila will also host the other sports events of INC.
He said as a Luzon-wide event, Group A (Cavite, Metro Manila Central, Metro Manila East, Rizal) will be conducting Unity Games at the Marika Sports Complex in Marikina City on February 18 and 25, 2012.
Ragaza noted that the sports competition for Groups B (Bulacan North, Bulacan South, Metro Manila North, Pampanga) and Group C (Nueva Ecija North, Nueva Ecija South, Tarlac North, and Tarlac South) have already ended.
The sports activity started in 2011 and was only opened for the different churches in the Manila area, he said.
Ragaza said this year, INC took the bold step to make it Luzon-wide to bring more church members together through friendly athletic competitions to develop discipline, responsibility, teamwork, and perseverance among their parishioners.
He said the Provincial Government of Laguna (PGL) under the administration of Governor Jeorge “E.R.” Ejercito Estregan is supporting fully the INC Unity Games 2012. Through this, the province will be able to showcase its superior sports equipment and facilities, Ragaza added.
At the University of the Philippines in Los Banos (UPLB), the ‘Parliament’, UPLB’s Debate Society in partnership with Laguna Governor ER Ejercito conducted this year’s SLIDE UP or Southern Luzon Inter-High School Debate Encounter at the NCAS Building Saturday in celebration of its 9th anniversary.
Parliament president Jake Gregory Bustos said the Debate was participated in by five schools, namely, Quezon National High School and Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, both of Quezon province; the Holy Rosary College, Calamba Bayside National High School, and Little Shepherd Business and Science high School, all of Laguna province.
Eleven debate teams from these schools were formed with three members each team, Bustos said.
He said after three rounds of intense debating tackling the themes Gender and Homosexuality; the Internet; and Elections, Holy Rosary College (Laguna) topped other participating teams and was hailed as the 4th SLIDE UP Champion.
Holy Rosary College received a trophy, medals, gift certificates from John Robert Powers and a P3,000 cash prize. Runner-up was Quezon National High School which received a P1,500 cash prize, he said.
Bustos said the Parliament has been conducting debates and extemporaneous speaking competitions for four years now.
It is the only debate organization in UPLB and the only representative of Southern Tagalog in the national debates conducted in Metro Manila and other regions of the country.
He said the sports activity was primarily conducted to prove that there are other regions aside from the National Capital Region that can excel in debate and in public speaking competitions. (PNA)
LDV/CTB
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