The staging of the 34th season of the Baguio Benguet Educational Athletic League faces cancellation as member schools are grappling with finances due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
University of the Cordilleras Athletic Director Danilo Cong-o said most schools have waived the collection of athletic fees due to the request of parents and teachers which led the city council to pass a resolution requesting schools to waive fees.
“With the non-collection of miscellaneous fees being requested by many, we are afraid that BBEAL schools might temporarily halt their sports program. Malaking gastos sa kanila kung sakali,” Cong-o said.
He said the matter has not been formally discussed among athletic directors of the participating school, but he claimed that the biggest collegiate sporting event in the Cordillera will be affected if schools will suspend scholarship grants for athletes participating in BBEAL.
Cong-o said athletic directors are focused on convin-cing their respective schools to retain the scholarships of its athletes.
He said that schools are already hard up in providing scholarship to athletes due to the waiving of athletics fee amounting to about P400 per semester.
UC has given a 25 percent discount on its athletic fees while University of Baguio has cancelled its collection.
Cordillera Career Development College has put on hold its scholarship program for athletes, as Vice President for Administration Annabelle Gondales said the school has not collected athletic fees, laboratory fees, and other miscellaneous fees from enrollees.
Some of the 80 athletic scholars of the school paid for their own tuition or have applied for other scholarships available in CCDC.
She said their scholarship program for athletes might resume January next year.
The 33rd season of the BBEAL has been cancelled halfway to the season last March when classes in all levels were suspended due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
BBEAL usually opens in October of each year. The CCDC was supposed to be the host of the 33rd season and Benguet State University for the 34th season.
BBEAL is composed of UC, UB, Saint Louis University, University of the Philippines Baguio, Pines City College, Baguio Central University, Baguio College of Techno-logy, the Philippine Military Academy, Benguet State University, and CCDC. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 25, 2024
