DAVAO CITY -- Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio welcomed the hosting of one of the world’s biggest sporting event – the Alveo Ironman 70.3 slated in March 2018 as this could boost the city’s tourism industry.
As this developed, Duterte-Carpio on Wednesday created the executive committee which will oversee the staging of the event and ensure its success.
In Executive Order 35, Duterte-Carpio will sit as chair of the committee with Wilfred Steven Uytengsu of Sunrise Events, Inc. as co-chair, and Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte as committee vice chair.
The members of the committee are Capt. Ronald Go of Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII); lawyers Osmundo Villanueva of the City Legal Office; Raul Nadela, Jr., the City Mayor’s Chief of Staff; and Tristan Dwight Domingo, the Assistant City Administrator for Administration.
The other members are Michael Denton Aportadera of the City Sports Development, Regina Rose Tecson of the City Tourism Office and Ret. Gen. Benito T. de Leon of the Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC).
“Through the event, Davao City’s scenic sights, its people, and abundant culture will be on full display to the world for renewed appreciation as to the sustainable progress the city and the entire country have achieved despite some challenges,” the EO reads.
The mayor said the event will boost Davao City’s tourism industry, considering that the event is expected to draw local and foreign athletes.
“The Ironman event is tried and tested. (It) will bring people to the city. It performed well in CamSur and in Cebu, rest assured that we will expect more tourist arrivals, of course, the participants of the events to come here in Davao City as well as the supporters of the participants,” Duterte-Carpio said.
The Ironman 70.3 Davao is a special event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Ironman in the Philippines.
Uytengsu said that prior to the Ironman main event, there will be other events like Alaska iron kids, which will be a triathlon for the youths.
“We will see our youth growing up with technology and they are not exposed to all of the sports, we would like to imbibe that in their behavior early on,” Uytengsu said.
The Chief Operating Officer of Ayala Land, inc,. Aniceto Bisnar Jr. also committed that the Alveo land will support the Ironman event for three years here in the city.
“It is indeed an honor for Azuela Cove here in Davao to partner with this great event that hopefully will bring a lot of tourists. Together with the Alveo residential brand, which is a co-sponsor for this event, we will be cooperating and working hard in order to ensure that we deliver a high-quality international caliber event,” Bisnar said.
“It is always exciting for us to announce the addition of a new event – especially in the Philippines where the enthusiasm of the Ironman community is exceptional. We launched Ironman Philippines on August 1st and sold out all entries in one day. We hope for such a tremendous response as we open registrations of Ironman 70.3 Davao on October 1st,” Ironman Asia Managing Director Geoff Meyer said.
The participants will race through the city’s fusion of nature and urban infrastructure, Meyer said. Ironman 70.3 is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC).
The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113 kilometers) covered in the race – including the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike race, and the 13.1-mile run. Prior to the launch of the 70.3 series in 2005, the WTC races were then known as Half Ironman. (Funny Pearl Gajunera/PNA)
