DUMAGUETE is known as “The City of Gentle People” due to the extraordinary warm hospitality and kind nature of its people, not to mention the genteel way of life despite being the capital and urban center of Negros Oriental.
Last year, it was awarded by The Philippine Retirement Authority as the top in their Retirement Area Deemed as Retiree-Friendly (RADAR) index, which measures a place’s compliance with global lifestyle standards set by the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and International Living.
It was also named as the world’s fifth-best place to retire by the prestigious Forbes magazine.
But despite its laid-back aura, its “gentle people” is an active population engaged in a variety of sports from sunrise to sundown. Locals from all social classes indulge their chosen physical activity—jogging or biking at the scenic Rizal Boulevard, zumba at the public plaza or a set or two at the badminton courts.
In the afternoon, the village of Daro becomes an attraction for the binaryo, a modified four-on-four street volleyball, which features tricycle drivers who spike hard in the game after a hard day’s work. Over at the baywalk, the area is abuzz with volleybelles at the beach volleyball courts purposely built by the city government for tournaments.
The tranquil water of the bay bursts into action on weekends as dragon-boat paddlers furiously train for their next race.
According to Dumaguete Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, they have been positioning the city as a sports hub in the central Philippines by organizing and hosting national events.
In line with its 70th charter anniversary and fiesta last year, the city hosted the Dumaguete Triathlon, Children’s Games, the Dumaguete Dragon Boat Challenge and the Beach Volleyball Republic On Tour. Moreover, the Philippine University Games has made the city their default venue because of its strategic location, splendid facilities, reasonable costs, conducive environment and warm hometown crowd.
Earlier in 2017, Little League Philippines Series, National Frisbee Ultimate Championship, Philippine National Games, Batang Pinoy, Philippine Super Liga Spike on Tour and 1st Southeast Asian Beach Handball have made the city their playground.
In mid-February this year, Dumaguete hosted the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association, the regional qualifying round of the Palarong Pambansa where the city’s sports excellence and trademark hospitality were once again put to the fore.
These initiatives have translated into an exponential growth in tourism arrivals and earned the city the coveted Organizer of the Year (Government) in the Philippine Sports Tourism Award late last year, organized by Selrahco Management and Consultancy Services. Dumaguete is also a runner-up in the Sports Destination of the Year category, which was won by Subic Bay Freeport.
The awardees were selected by a panel of judges from various sectors, including the Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee.
“This award will top off all the tourism awards we got. I always believe that sports is a great equalizer and unifier,” Remollo said in the PSTA ceremonies.
To build on the momentum of its being a sports tourism capital, he said the city will embark on the Dive Dumaguete program this April to encourage the residents to engage in scuba diving, which can be later used for water safety and protection of the marine ecosystem.
It is the gateway to some of the best dive sites in Central Visayas, among them Apo Island in Dauin town, Santander and Oslob in southern Cebu and various sites around Negros Oriental, Siquijor and Bohol. The city itself has an emerging dive spots in the villages of Bantayan and Banilad, which boast of rich coral gardens and aquatic animals.
With these developments, it won’t come as a surprise if Dumaguete is renamed as “The City of Gentle…and Sporty People.”