Santa Barbara, Iloilo is known as one of the hotbeds of the Beautiful Game in the country. The town has produced many good players through the years. Among those that I know are former FEU head coach and national player Adolfo Alicante and current Stallion FC fixtures Jason Cordova and Jovanie Simpron. I've been to the town on several occasions and loved my stay there. One time, I spearheaded the move to give the late General Martin Delgado, a Katipunan general and Visayas war hero, a proper place in Ateneo de Manila's War Heroes Memorial. But I go there primarily for the football and hope to visit again soon.
Recently, it came to my attention, that the football fields in the town plaza are being eaten up to give way to a health clinic barely two meters away from the sideline. Now there is nothing wrong with that except that no public forum was held. The Santa Barbara Football Association and the townsfolk were not even consulted and they are irate. Looks like the public official behind this is trying to get his way with certain things (doesn't that remind me of SM Blue) without due process.
Santa Barbara is one of those places considered for the 2012 University Games but with their football fields being eaten up, it doesn't look to pass inspection. So how do you fight a public official who does whatever the heck he wants? Check out the people from Santa Barbara watching their beloved field being torn up.
Maybe past and present Ilonggo football stars can help bring attention to this. How about our youth, local football officials ask? Where do we go from here?
I thought public officials are not supposed to put their name on public projects? Is it his personal money that he is using for in the development of this clinic? It's the people's money and he is only doing his job. Take your name off that damn piece of machinery.
Ey Rick !
ReplyDelete"Take your name off that damn piece of machinery."
I think the back hoe on the photo was borrowed from another town and not Sta Barbara! Still inappropriate though! As for the insensitivity of LGU officials , I was told the LGU head is not really a football fan but a golfer and a known "wo**n**er". There were times when he was not yet an LGU head that football enthusiasts tried to borrow a grass cutter to trim a football field and he rejected the request for vague reasons! While he allegedly always professes public service, this hypocrite doesn't really have a heart for the people but only serves as a puppet of a bigger "power that" be from his town!
i passed by sta barbs plaza yesterday, i saw the construction site but i thought it was an extension of the gym or bleachers for the football field.
ReplyDeletei am for public health improvement but that place was the most inappropriate place to for a health clinic.
football is BIG in sta barbs, am sure the culprit will have a difficult reelection bid come 2013!!
......about the machinery, DINGLE is @30km north of sta barbs...and i thought dolfo was from La Paz?,,, hmmmm
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