BY GERRY LEE GORIT
Contributor
THE Misamis Oriental Integrated Sports Complex (Moisc) takes center stage as the preferred venue for most of the Kuyamis Festival 2023 activities, which kicked off today and will wrap up on January 13.
According to Provincial Tourism Officer Atty. Jeffrey Saclot, this year’s celebration of the Kuyamis Festival will take place at the Moisc as a symbol of unity between Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro under the leadership of Gov. Peter M. Unabia and Mayor Rolando Uy, respectively.
In fact, Atty. Saclot said, for the first time in Kuyamis Festival’s 10-year history, both the provincial and city governments have come together to collaborate on a joint sporting activity dubbed as the “Paglaum MisOr Rise CDO Cup,” where Cagayan de Oro will participate in a variety of sports together with other local government units from Misamis Oriental.
This sporting event, Saclot said, will be participated in by the local government employees of all cities and municipalities of Misamis Oriental including Cagayan de Oro.
Saclot said the holding of almost all of the Kuyamis activities at the Moisc is significant considering the sports complex is jointly owned by the provincial government, city government, and the Department of Education.
He said the venue for the street dancing competition, another Kuyamis major event, will also be at the Moisc.
“The highlights will be held at the Moisc to signify that we are now back to normal and to show that our street dancing competition is comparable to the major festivals in the Philippines,” Saclot added.
He said this year’s street dancing contest has 15 groups, out of 25 local governments, participating.
Provincial Administrator John Venice Ladaga said Unabia has emphasized the theme “Paglaum sa MisOr” as he considered tourism as one of the drivers of the local economy.
Gov. Unabia has green-lighted initiatives for the province’s tourism projects, he said.
“In fact, our engineers and architects have started to establish ‘tourism loops’ in Misamis Oriental,” Ladaga said.
Included in the plan is to convert the Moisc and make it a high-standard sports venue.
“We have private investors willing to develop Moisc to develop it and make it a world-class facility. The details are in the works and the governor has also formed a core group to focus on the Moisc project,” Ladaga said.