Liloan & Ironman
And so it is settled. The Ironman will not go with Plan B of having its bike leg go through the roads of northern Cebu towns from Consolacion to Danao and back to Mactan. Instead, Plan C will be implemented: bike on the roads of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue and look for 90 kilometers in what I guess will be a circuit-type route that the triathletes will have to bike over and over again in laps. I’m glad that was finally settled after Plan A (use of the SRP) and Plan B (northern Cebu) weren’t feasible. At this point, the finger-pointing and blame game should get out of the way although many still want to talk about it. The race is set and let the race begin. My only concern is that I hope this won’t have an impact on the next stagings of the Ironman here in Cebu.
It took the tough stand of Mayor Christina Garcia Frasco to send the bike leg on a detour. And she made the call despite the previous go-signals of the mayors of the other towns that were part of the route. It had to be an all or nothing call. All in or bust. What surprises me is a situation where the Ironman Cebu was already placed in the calendar, drew participants in record pace and already marketed not only locally but also abroad. Flights were booked. Hotel room reservations were made and the training programs of triathletes were fine-tuned for an August 5 triathlon. And all these were done without a concrete route for the bike leg (90 kilometers). It’s like organizing a road race but not knowing where the runners are to run. What gives?
Another strong impression on me was how Mayor Tommy Osmeña and Mayor Garcia Frasco made tough calls not to allow the bike leg to go through SRP and Liloan. The reasons were valid and they stood by their decisions. For my hometown of Liloan, it meant the closing of all roads that would’ve paralyzed Liloan and practically the entire northern Cebu from 5 a.m. to 12 noon on the fifth of August. This means paralyzing practically the upper half of the province because of the need to close down the Cebu North Road. That too, has a lot of major implications. When the search for a new bike route was being done and Liloan’s reply was clear, I was hoping for a compromise to be established for a win-win scenario. Use the north for the bike route but don’t shut down the entire road. Was this possible? Could half of the highway be used for the Ironman and the other half for the regular Sunday commuters? Let’s face it. Shutting down the highway will mean a lot of inconvenience not only people of Liloan like me but for all towns affected in the north. We’re virtually telling everyone not to go out and bring their vehicles out. In our case, that will mean not going to church for Mass and buying the usual Sunday lunch food at the food street of Liloan. I’m admittedly torn in situations like these. We want to boost sports tourism and it would be great pride to be part of the Ironman. Make no mistake about it. I hardly write about triathlons and have never attended any Ironman media event, but I know the impact it has on Cebu over-all, and not just sports. But do we have this and make local folks suffer? I think the biggest “missing link” in the Ironman’s pitch was the absence of a direct economic/business impact on the towns concerned as compared to the potential losses of these towns had the roads been shut down. True, Cebu’s economy is expected to receive a major boost but I don’t think any of this will affect the towns of the Plan B bike route.
All’s well that ends well? Surely, Mayors Tommy and Garcia Frasco are now on the KJ list of the triathlon family but will also draw the praises of the people who would’ve been affected had they changed their minds. I salute Mayor Garcia-Frasco for taking the tough stand and also credit the Ironman organizers for finding a Plan C and never giving up in Cebu. I guess this was also a win-win scenario for all. My wish for our beloved mayor now is that she take this same toughness and critical thinking/analysis for her constituents to take care of Liloan. The proposed bike route is a minor hiccup vis-à-vis the growing concerns of our beloved town. Traffic is getting to be a more serious problem. A lot of roads are in need of repair. Like any other growing town, peace and order is slowly (but surely?) on the rise. It’s sad that Liloan made the news for being the place where Ermita barangay captain Imok Rupinta was shot to death. Wasn’t it in Yati where a drug den was discovered and drug pushers arrested? In sports, we have a Paul Desiderio shining in the UAAP. What are we doing to produce the next Desiderio? But I’m sure our mayor is aware of all of these and is already working on the solutions or innovations to make Liloan better.
Here’s wishing for all the best for the Ironman and Liloan. They may not be compatible (for now), but I pray that somewhere down the road, they’ll get to know each other better and work together.
- Latest
