Ungab: MOU will pave way for sports complex

By CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEY
The implementation of the proposed Davao City Sports Complex on a 20-hectare lot inside the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin) in Mintal, Tugbok will commence as soon as the City Government of Davao and UPMin sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) for the project.
Davao Third District Rep. Isidro T. Ungab said the MOU will pave the way for the construction of the long-awaited sports facility.
Ungab said the funds for the project have been incorporated in the 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and that the P200 million budget for the first phase is already with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Another P50 million for the track and field oval is now with UPMin, according to Ungab.
The first phase includes P100 million for auditorium, P50 million for indoor gym and multi-purpose building, and P50 million for the road leading to the sports complex.
“The MOU will ensure that both the city government and UPMin will jointly manage the sports complex,” Unhgab said.
The MOU, he added, will also ensure relocation for the settlers inside the 20-hectare sports facility.
The proposed sports complex was the subject of a heated discussion during the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) last week after claimants in the area expressed their dismay over the planned construction of the project.
Upon learning that claimants will be affected, Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte immediately expressed his apprehension over the project and said he wanted this built somewhere else where there are no settlers who will be affected.
This also prompted the SP to refer back the proposed MOU to the committee on rules, privileges, laws and ordinances chaired by Councilor Bernard Al-ag for further scrutiny.
The SP members also cited a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte and UP president Emil Javier in 1998 for the construction of a proposed sports complex inside the school premises.
UPMin, however, said the MOA was never approved by the Board of Regents at that time.
Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte, meanwhile, insisted that the sports complex will rise in the UPMin, even threatening to personally lead the demolition of settlers should they refuse to vacate the area.