By mars w. mosqueda jr.
CEBU CITY — Mayor Tomas Osmeña here issued a warning to the organizers of this year’s Southeast Asian Games against using public elementary and high school students as performers or volunteers before and during the course of the week-long activities.
City Public Information Officer Nagiel Bañacia said the mayor is strictly imposing a ban on using school children in extra curricular activities, including sports activities that may affect the students’ academic performance.
Cebu is host to six events, including the first-ever dancesport competition, of the Nov. 27-Dec. 5 games.
Aside from dancesport, which will be held at the Waterfront Hotel, Cebu will also be the site of the competitions in sepak takraw (San Carlos gym), pencak silat (Cebu Coliseum), judo and karatedo (Mandaue Sports Center) and mountain bike (Danao City).
Bañacia said Osmeña has threatened to pull out the city’s support for the SEA Games should the organizers continue using students as performers and volunteers as he also warned teachers not to let their students participate in activities that will affect their studies.
Instead of using the students, the mayor said the SEA Games organizers should use soldiers, army reservists, and other civilian volunteers for the games.
Osmeña earlier banned school children from performing during the Sinulog festival last January. He announced that he will also ban the participation of public school students in the annual Alay Lakad presentations and sports activities starting next year, for fear it will cause students to perform worse in school.
"The mayor clarified that the students may still join activities that would not require them to practice during school days," said Bañacia.
Starting next year, public school students would also be prohibited from joining presentations in the Cebu City Olympics, Milo Olympics, and Central Visayas Regional Athletics Association.
The mayor’s order not to allow public school students to participate in extra curricular activities that will require them to practice during school days came after the results of the national achievement tests for public school students showed that students from the city fared poorly.
The mayor’s policy will stand until public school students in the city perform better in national exams, said Bañacia.
