Adiong opens ARMM’s inter-collegiate competitions One town, one scholar program launched

February 4, 2010


MARAWI CITY – The Commission on Higher Education of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (CHED-ARMM) opened here on Wednesday its first regional solidarity games, academic and cultural events competitions covering initially 20 of the region’s higher educational institutions (HEIs) due to operational kinks.

Acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Alonto graced the opening rites of the four-day affairs, which was held in conjunction with the awarding of scholarship grant for each of the 117 towns in the region.

In addition to the regular one scholar, one town program slots, CHED-ARMM Chair Norma Sharief commended the 20 participating HEIs from Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur including Marawi City by awarding them one scholarship slot each.

In his extemporaneous speech in vernacular, Adiong Adiong urged the participating students to harness their sports and academic prowess to be able to achieve brighter prospects.

Adiong cited the current emergence of Filipino sportsmen Like Manny Pacquiao in the global scene should stimulate the in-school youth to strive hard.

“Your successes in sports and academic endeavours would mean the success of our region at least,” Adiong said.

The four-day affair here covered sports games, cultural and academic events.

The games category covered badminton, chess, table teniis, karatedo, lawn tennis, swimming, taekwondo for individuals, and basket, baseball, football, softball, sepak takraw and volleyball for teams.

The cultural category includes awit saya, tipa at tugtugan (solo instrument), lihawit (song-writing), ginoo at binibining Pamantasan (pageant) for individuals; awit-saya for duet, sayawitan (sing and dance choir) sayaw Pinoy (Filipino creative folk-ethnic dance) for groups.

Winners in this regional competition will represent the ARMM to the national level, which will be held in Pasig , Metro Manila on February 23-29 with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as officiating guest of honor, Sharief said.

The academic category covers impromptu speech, oration, poetry interpretation, story-telling, science quiz, math quiz and computer quiz for individuals, and debate for groups.

Sharief said the CHED-ARMM was one week late in holding the four-day affair due to the delay in the release of funding support from Manila spawned by operational kinks in her agency’s recent leadership turnovers.

As a result of the regional operation’s hitches, HEIs in the island provinces of Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi did not make it to send delegates to the competitions here, said Sharief, who hoped for a wider participation in the second phase of the activity next year. (Ali G. Macabalang)