LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Benguet Caretaker Congressman and Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS)) Party-list Rep. Eric Yap assured sports enthusiasts he will source out sufficient funds to ensure that next year, the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Wangal Sports Complex is completed so that the province can host local, regional, national and international sports competitions.
Yap, who chairs the powerful House Committee on Appropriations, committed that facilities that cannot be funded by the P165 million from national government this year will be included in the proposed budget next year so that Benguet will have a much better sports complex that will entice sports organizers to hold their activities in the province.
He said the funds he will source from relevant government agencies will be used to complete the sports facilities of the complex to turn it into the province’s show window thus requests to fund proposed improvements of other sports facilities will have to be shelved at this time to prioritise the completion of all sports amenities inside the complex and make it operational the soonest.
The lawmaker pointed out the Wangal Sports Complex is suitable for hosting various sports events once the facilities are completed because there is available land area that could be developed to ensure that the facilities can accommodate huge crowds.
According to him, the completion of the facilities of the complex will also help in encouraging potential athletes from the different parts of the province to strive to excel in their sports disciplines to bring honor and pride not only to the province but also to the country.
Congressman Yap claimed he will also look into other areas outside the capital town that could be improved and developed into suitable sports facilities for the training requirements of potential athletes to hone their skills in various sports disciplines at these facilities without going to La Trinidad or Baguio City just to train for future sports competitions.
Earlier, Yap worked out the inclusion of some P165 million in this year’s annual budget for the upgrading and rehabilitation of the Wangal Sprots Complex and some P25 million for the improvement of the covered court to ensure that the sports venues comply with prescribed standards to allow the province to host future sports competitions.
The caretaker congressman asserted that sports is also a crowd drawer because it attracts people to personally witness the participation of their favorite teams or their idols in the various sports disciplines who are competing in sports tournaments hosted by the province. By HENT