‘Baka tayo naman ang host for the next CARAA Meet,’ – LKD Engineer Uyam after groundbreaking of Kalinga Sports Complex

Tabuk City, Kalinga – With the successful groundbreaking ceremony of the Multi-Purpose Facility or Kalinga Sports Complex on March 10, the Provincial Government led by James S. Edduba marked the start of a major project that could position the province to host the next Cordillera Administrative Region Athletic Association Meet.

During the event, Ruby Uyam, district engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways Lower Kalinga District Engineering Office, presented an overview of the ₱148,487,242.19 Kalinga Sports Complex Phase 1 project. The initiative was originally pushed by Governor Edduba and former Congressman Jesse Mangaoang and is now being supported by incumbent Congresswoman Caroline Agyao.

Uyam added that the province has a chance of hosting the next CARAA Meet once both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the project are completed. The second phase is expected to further expand the facility with an initial budget allocation of ₱300 million.

“For Phase 1 of the project, this will be implemented by the DPWH through the contractor TJMT Construction. We are also preparing for Phase 2 with the initiative of our leaders, with a budget amounting to ₱300 million. Hopefully, our leaders can work this out so the project can be completed just in time, as Kalinga may host the next CARAA. Sana matapos natin ang highly modernized sports complex ng ating probinsya,” she said.

Scheduled for completion on March 18, 2028, the complex will feature an oval track, grandstand, courts, swimming pools, gymnasium, and other supporting infrastructure.

The Kalinga Sports Complex

The sports complex has historically played an important role in staging large-scale events in the province. According to Mayer Max G. Adong, provincial director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the facility hosted the Northern Luzon Athletic Association Meet in 1972, when Kalinga was still part of Region II.

Kalinga last hosted the CARAA Meet in 2012, and local officials see the completion of the modern multi-purpose facility as a key step toward reviving the province’s role as a regional sports hub.

In 2023, the sports complex also became the site of a historic cultural performance that earned Kalinga two Guinness World Records titles during the 28th Kalinga Founding Anniversary and 4th Bodong Festival: the World’s Largest Gong Ensemble and the Largest Banga Dance.

The performance, titled “Awong chi Gangsa, Ad’tun chi Banga” (Call of a Thousand Gongs, Dance of a Thousand Pots), featured 3,440 male gong players and 4,681 female banga (clay pot) dancers, setting the two world records.