SHOWING that the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is more than just a basketball organization, officials of the fastest growing regional amateur basketball league spearheaded the first ever outreach program for the landslide victims in Naga, Cebu.
Hundreds of families were cramped inside the Enan Chiong Activity Center where the victims are temporarily sheltered, but there were joys on their faces the moment the MPBL delegation arrived led by Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes, assistant commissioner Satar Macantal, operations head Zaldy Realubit, team coordinator Emerson Oreta, and the members of the Cebu Sharks headed by coach Ting Manalili and star player Patrick Cabahug.
Also part of the delegation is Atty. Dan Roleda, whose grouped also helped out in giving support to the victims of the landslide.
“Senator Manny Pacquiao, being a brother as well in the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Guardians. We talked about the MPBL Cares. He really wanted to reach out to the barangays and distressed people from different communities. The MPBL wants to show it cares. We tied up on this with the Fraternal Order of Eagles. For 40 years, the Fraternal Order of Eagles is doing community works in all fields, medicine, nutrition, even housing. So the Fraternal Order of Eagles is the perfect partner of the MPBL Cares,” said Roleda.
“We are here in Naga, Cebu, to visit and check on the conditions of the landslide victims. Hopefully, Senator Manny Pacquiao will be able to come up with ideas concretely and not just visiting, how we could help these victims. It’s not ideal to give one time support and that’s it. We are working together to have an everlasting solution on this problem. We would like to tell these victims not to lose hope because the entire Filipino nation is with them.”
Commissioner Duremdes added that the MPBL Cares in Naga is just the first of a series of community works for the league.
The MPBL donated food, refreshments, and other useful materials to the victims. The league’s staff members also played with the children of the victims and was also entertained by Realubit, who sang with the victims while playing the acoustic guitar.
The Sharks, who won a day earlier in the MPBL against Makati, also gave their fellow Cebuanos some encouragement not to lose hope. — Rey Joble
