The Philippine Sports Commission will spearhead the upgrade of Mindanao State University track to help accelerate sports development in Marawi City and the entire province of Lanao del Sur.
PSC chair William I. Ramirez and MSU president Dr. Habib W. Macaayong led the groundbreaking ceremony inside the MSU campus on Tuesday with the construction expected to start end of March.
“A prestigious and respected educational institution must have a track oval of its own, not only for sports but for the cultural and social activities of Lanao as well,” said Ramirez.
The PSC will transform the oval into a rubberized track to lure more people, especially the youth, into sports.
“As soon as the track oval is completed, we will host tournaments and invite athletes from other countries and schools to compete,” said Macaayong.
The projected completion of the MSU rubberized track oval will also uplift the spirits of Marawi residents who got rocked by a five-month armed conflict that started May 2017 between government security forces and militants affiliated with Islamic State of Iraq, including the Maute and Abu Sayyaf jihadist groups.
“We came in to help Marawi because many administrations in the past failed to put it (sports facilities) here,” said Ramirez.
“President Duterte’s mantra is to bring sports to the periphery. But Marawi is not a periphery, it is an urban society. All the more that it must have a track oval and sports complex of its own,” added the PSC chief.
Also present during the groundbreaking were Philippine Sports Institute national training director Marc Velasco, PSI deputy director prof. Henry Daut, Atty. Renato Bartolo, HUDCC TFBM, police supt. Richard Adonis Habawel, Lanao del Sur SK Federation president Jamil Faisal Adiong, MSU vice chancellor for academic affairs Dr. Florencio Recolleto, vice chancellor for research Dr. Ceasar dela Sena, Prof.Henrietta Hofer Ele (founder CSPEAR).
