Sports Eye

By March 16, 2014Opinion, Sports Eye

What happened to Werweran ed Mangaldan?

Jess Garcia

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

MORNING of March 10, a day after my town Mangaldan’s fiesta celebration ended, I went to the public market to buy some foodstuffs for my family’s daily consumption. And believe it or not, I was bombarded by queries from many Mangaldan sports aficionados, asking why no “Werweran ed Mangaldan” happened this year. I told them I didn’t know myself. I explained to them that I really did my best to save the race, having submitted the feasibility study to municipal consultant Dr. Ging Toralba as early the first week of December as requested. I followed it up in the succeeding days but no go. I was not even officially advised of the reason behind the cancellation.

But I surmise that our lady chief executive Bona who has the ‘final say’ is not a cycling admirer, and may not know that our beloved town produced national cycling celebrities Cesar Catambay of barangay Malabago, the brothers Samson and Ruben of barangay Landas, 1987 Southeast Asia Games (SEA) gold medalist Alex Lopez and 1981 SEA Games silver medalist Emeterio Natavio both from barangay Guesang, and the latest was 2013 Ronda Pilipinas fifth placer Joshua Carino, also from Landas. Need I say what I achieved myself? I believe no other sport or any other Mangaldan athlete (outside cycling) ever surpassed or equaled what the Mangaldanon cyclists accomplished. The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) or the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) can readily attest to this.

Nonetheless, in spite of the cancellation of Werweran, (well-known since 1974, christened by Dr. Ydia, Aje Cabrera and Johnny Valencia in 1994 as Werweran, now considered as the oldest and the most prestigious annual bicycle race in the country today), I still managed to organize a short race last March 2 with zero assistance from the municipal government. With meager means, we did the race but not in the stature of Werweran. My big thanks to Excellent Noodles and the Meridien Vista Gaming Corporation for sponsoring the event and to our Vice Mayor Manny Casupang, Councilors Manny Cabrera, Aurelio Fabia, Robert and Jovy Frialde, Baby Abalos, Alfredo Soriano and Ilocos Sur DPWH second district engineering office head Engr. Rodolfo “Boy” Dion for lending support. I’ve long known these people as among those valued the Werweran. Regrettably, we had to drop the name “Werweran” and called the event “Mangaldan Men’s Cycling Challenge” as requested by some of the sponsors since it’s not a municipal affair. I agreed.

“Mangaldan town fiesta celebration is not a complete celebration without a bicycle race knowing that Mangaldan is the only town in the Philippines that produced multiple cycling champions,” said Angel Gumarang, head coach of the LNU Dukes basketball team and very knowledgeable in sports. “Mangaldanons should be proud of that,” he added.

“Lumaki kasi sa America si Mayor Bona kaya hindi niya siguro alam kung sinu-sino na ang mga siklistang taga-Mangaldan na nagdala ng karangalan sa Pilipinas at abroad,” echoed Manuel Aquino, Jr. of Barangay David, Mangaldan. Hopefully the disappearance of Werweran this year is just temporary and it would be revived next year. But in case Mayor Bona drops it again, we’ll simply try to continue the tradition, using my way with my son Jazy, without the name Werweran, starting and finishing the race in my village like what we did this year. But if somebody wants to continue the Werweran (and not under my directorship) for any reason, that’s okay with me. This is a free country. Weather-weather lang, as what Erap and Mr. Kim Atienza would always say.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me. That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things. ISAIAH 45: 5-7

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