Gwen: Not right time for inter-school meets

CEBU, Philippines — Governor Gwendolyn “Gwen” Garcia, Provincial School Board co-chair, has reiterated her opposition to the inter-school meets amid the global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.

With the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country, the governor said she is against any huge gathering of students as not to expose them to risks of contracting the disease.

"I don’t think it’s really the right time," she said.

Garcia was referring to the plans to carry on with the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) regional meet on March 15-21 in Dumagete City, Negros Oriental, and the National Schools Press Conference (NSPC) to be held on March 9-13 in Tuguegarao City in Cagayan Valley.

She is set to meet with Cebu mayors to consult them on the issue.

"Is it worth the risk? I shall be calling the mayors as soon as I can...next week," Garcia told reporters.

Although these scheduled activities are organized by Department of Education (DepEd), she said they are ultimately funded by the participating local government units.

Also, she urged DepEd to figure out other activities to credit district supervisors in lieu of these inter-school meets.

"Dili man gud na necessary unta, except for credit para sa district supervisors," Garcia said.

District supervisors are required to organize meets, such as CVIRAA, in order to gain credit for their Key Results Area (KRA).

Cebu Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Marilyn Andales, who co-chairs the Provincial School Board, said the decision to continue on with the province’s participation in the CVIRAA meet lies with the DepEd-7 regional office.

However, she said DepEd-Cebu has complied with Garcia’s suggestions during the last school board meeting on February 4 to forgo elimination meets and instead pick out the winning athletes from the previous years as delegates.

"Amoa rang gipaapil sa selection kadto rang best teams-- nakagold, silver during sa previous CVIRAA, kadto pung naka-join sa higher competitions like Batang Pinoy and international competitions," she said.

In a recent report by The Freeman, DepEd-7 Regional Director Salustiano Jimenez was quoted saying that despite protests from the Cebu Provincial Government, DepEd will carry on with CVIRAA with appropriate safety measures.

This includes the March 4 orientation on COVID-19 organized by the Department of Health for nurses of Negros Oriental which includes nurses in the Dumaguete City Division.

As for the NSPC, Andales clarified that the regional level of the competition had been done. Only those who garnered top place in the regional competitions will be participating in the national level.

COVID-19 has killed over 2,976 and infected over 86,927 people globally. Coronavirus originated from Wuhan, China.  KQD (FREEMAN)