TACLOBAN CITY — The Ormoc City Schools Division once again proved its dominance in regional sports after retaining the overall championship in the 2026 Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association (EVRAA) meet.
For the sixth time, the Ormoc delegation topped the medal standings with 173 gold, 141 silver, and 82 bronze medals, finishing far ahead of other school divisions in Eastern Visayas.
During the “Heroes Welcome” program for the city’s Siglaro athletes, Lucy Torres-Gomez thanked the athletes and their coaches for bringing pride and honor to the city.
“I would like to thank the team behind you. Thank you very much for the hard work. It takes a village to build an athlete,” the mayor said.
Torres-Gomez also commended Ormoc’s paragames athletes, who likewise emerged as overall champions with 25 gold medals.
The Leyte province Schools Division placed second with 64 gold, 68 silver, and 81 bronze medals, while the Tacloban City Division rose to third place with 48 gold medals, improving from its fifth-place finish in last year’s competition.
Host division Baybay finished fourth, followed by Maasin in fifth place.
Meanwhile, several divisions improved their medal haul, including Eastern Samar, Samar, Southern Leyte, and Northern Samar.
Following the regional meet, Baybay City Mayor Jose Carlos Cari urged all school divisions to unite in supporting athletes who will represent Eastern Visayas in the 2026 Palarong Pambansa, which will be hosted by Agusan del Sur in May.
Cari emphasized that cooperation among the region’s divisions will be key in improving Eastern Visayas’ performance in the national games.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
