BENCHWARMER
Ramon S. Dacawi
BAGUIO CITY -- I was at the refurbished Baguio Athletic Bowl last
Wednesday, no longer a stressed-out newsman covering the events but as a
spectator. There was no deadline to meet, unlike in numerous sports events from
the local “Palaro” to the national games, and while I felt relief, the itch was
still there to formulate a “lead” that I used to do on my way from the playing
field to the typewriter – and later, the computer.
Those were thrilling years when Joe Antonio,.my sports editor at the
People’s Journal, egged me on, saying he himself began his career covering
provincial games. Looking back to those years, here’s what I remember:
I’ve had my years of covering sports events up to the “Palarong Pambansa”.
How I wish the younger crop of Baguio journalists would have the drive and
passion to do so in their prime. Not as an excuse to see places, but an
opportunity to witness and capture the thrill and drama of competitions.
Not an arm-chair coverage that depends on the results brought to the
billeting quarters at the end of the day by coaches and athletes themselves.
Not veiled plagiarism by way of rewriting and converting the
dispatches of a fellow journalist who actually covered and then passing these
as one’s own. It’s honestly and actually getting the results from the field.
It’s a labor of love.
It’s not all about winning and losing. Coverage goes beyond the daily
medal count of gold, silver and bronze. It has something to do with recording
honesty and fair play that are the marks of a Baguio and Cordillera boy and
girl - in and out of the playing field.
The year skips me now, but my memory goes back to the final of the
100-meter dash for high school girls at the Benguet State University grounds in
one regional competition. It resulted in a photo finish and the judges
eventually declared winner the runner from Benguet. Baguio lodged a protest.
At the victory stand, the Benguet lass suddenly handed her gold medal to
her Baguio rival and slid the silver around her neck. It was a gesture the
venerable sports booster, Dr. Fernando Bautista Sr., wouldn’t let pass. He
handed the girl a cash award, gripping her hand in a firm handshake.
The founder of the University of Baguio was as proud as any father would
be over the winning feat of a daughter.
A few years later, while conducting a journalism training in Dalupirip,
Itogon, Benguet, I was told the honest girl had married and was living nearby.
I accompanied the students whom I assigned to interview her for a feature
story. Finding her holding her baby on her lap, I was sure the
toddler got her mother’s athletic genes and would grow up to become
another winner.
Beside highlighting victory and fair play, media coverage can help
rectify lapses in judgment, as councilor Peter Fianza pointed out in a measure
he filed for including a media component in our sports delegations.
For one, in Pozorrubio, Pangasinan, when the Cordillera was still with
the Northern Luzon Athletic Association, the late Baguio journalist Willy
Cacdac composed for then city superintendent of schools Jose Olarte
Sr. a protest letter over the importation by a province of
basketball players from another province and region.
At a “Batang Pinoy” edition in Bacolod, judges had to play the video
recording by Peewee Agustin to overturn a referee’s spotty decision to give the
gold to the opponent of Baguio taekwondo player Mark Bautista.
Still in Bacolod, then Cordillera regional sports supervisor Romeo Palod
asked me to draft a protest against the elementary boys football coach of
Iloilo who led his wards in chasing and abusing the Baguio boys who had just
beaten them, 1-0. The losing team simply couldn’t accept their fate against the
wards of coach Golocan.
At a “Palarong Pambansa” in Koronadal, Cotabato, I had to point out to a
recorder at finish that he had missed writing the names and clocking of two
Cordillera runners who had just topped their respective heats on the track. As
a rule, coaches and athletes are not allowed anywhere near the oval.
The recorder must have wondered why I was behind him, almost breathing
down his neck. He checked my reporter’s ID before correcting the errors by
omission in his entries.There were amusing and sad incidents. Midway into the
“Palaro” in Gen. Santos City, I was typing out my daily radio dispatch when
some Cordillera school officials came to bid goodbye
“Agawid kamin ta napasyar mi metten to Mindanao (We’re going home as
we’ve already visited Mindanao),” one of them told me.
Time was when our athletes had to do with under- or over-sized uniforms,
or running shirts that scratched and hurt the skin, giving credence to the
suspicion that they were made of plastic material like “plastic abot-abot”.
Coverage then was far more stressful than today. Some officials were
reluctant to let you peek into the results. Venues were not centralized that
you had to daily commute to and from Gen. Santos City to Koronadal or from and
to Naga City and Pili town in the Bicol Region. You had to wait for
the national media to write and send their stories before you could
access the limited typewriters, computers, fax machines and phone lines.
You also meet people who, despite their lofty
positions, treat you like a long-lost brother. We were preparing for
home when a pick-up stopped by our school billeting quarters in Gen. Santos.
Out came three security men with guns, followed by a diminutive yet
authoritative figure who asked delegation officials where he
could find me.
Before school supervisor Vic Panagan could figure out an answer,
the man saw me. “Hindi ka makakaalis ng Mindanao kung di ka sasama sa amin,” boomed
Manny Pinol. The seasoned sports writer and commentator was then the mayor of
M’lang, Cotabato and would later serve as governor.
Manny dipped his hands into the pick-up’s open rear flatbed and fished
out a bunch of chickens.
“Paki-pinikpikan n’yo ito at ipasyal ko muna ‘tong
kapatid ko (Cook these the Igorot way while I’ll tour my brother
around),” he advised Manong Vic.
“Ni, ammo na pay ti pinikpikan (So he also knows pinikpikan),” Mr.
Panagan wondered aloud. (e-mail: mondaxbench@yahoo.com for comments)
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