I am listening to the Governor speak. She is in front of hundreds of volleyball players, coaches, parents and officials, who have come from all over the island, to participate in the launch of the Unity Cup. Some of them have risen at 4:00 in the morning and taken a four hour boat, bus and/or jeepney trip to make it to the venue. Or worse.
Gwendolyn Garcia is informal today. She is in jeans and a simple top, very casual for the highest executive official in this province. (She is also very svelte, making me wish I hadn't eaten breakfast.) But then again, it's a Sunday, so to come in a power outfit would be overkill.
The Governor had started by acknowledging all the participants. She even acknowledges me, which is not the reason I am dedicating this column to her. Ok fine, maybe it helped. But just a little bit.
She comes to the meat of her speech. She does not talk about politics. She doesn't talk about her opponents, or the flack she's received from detractors, or some of the negative press she's gotten. Instead, she talks about sports. She talks about the spirit of competition, of bringing the level of athleticism upwards, of continuous improvement. She urges the athletes to strive for excellence. All in all, it's a welcome respite from the politicking and the bickering that most officials subject their constituents to.
It is evident that the Governor is pleased with the products of her tournament, a province-wide competition which has been going on for more than five years. Enough time for discoveries to have been in the far-flung regions, and the discovered to have been enticed to relocate to the city to play. Enough time for the discovered to have graduated from high school and receive scholarships for their college education. Or, even better, for the discovered to have received offers from prestigious Manila universities, or to train in the national pool.
The Governor is justly proud. After all, this is the biggest tournament in the whole of the Philippine islands. What other local government expends this much effort and time in nurturing sports, let alone volleyball? There is no other city or province that can claim this much long-term investment in the promotion of this sport. (Fine, Cam Sur has triathlon and surfing, but Cebu has the equine sector as well. And has been doing it longer.)
And for that, I think the residents of Cebu should, in turn, be proud of their Governor. What other governor has consistently supported, over the years, this less-than-popular sport? What other governor gives up what should be a normally lazy Sunday morning dedicated to family, and agrees to spend her precious free time by waking up early, prepping for her speech, and giving a pep talk to would-be athletes? And most importantly (for me), what other governor spares her subjects from a harangue on politics, doesn't take this opportunity to side-swipe her opponents, and instead limits the contents of her speech to boosting the audience's spirit and focusing on the sport?
After the speech, it is lunch time, but it is not time to relax. Governor Garcia spends her lunch hour getting in-depth reports from members of the Board of the Cebu Volleyball Association (sans me, as I have decided to sit beside supermodel and ex-volleyball player Marjay Ramirez, in the hopes of reflected glamour). The Governor plumbs what's happening in other tournaments, and lays down her vision and her views on the sport. (I know, because I was eavesdropping on her table.)
I wonder, what other leader shows this intensity of interest? None that I know of, and this facet in her, I believe to be admirable and remarkable. She may not have done as well in the polls last elections, but with this kind of statesmanship, the Governor is, perhaps, demonstrating why she deserved re-election.