Cortes Graces mayor’s cup opening

MANDAUE City Mayor Jonas Cortes was overwhelmed by the strong support shown by the participants, sponsors and donors of the  2nd Mandaue Mayor’s Cup 2011 Shooting Tournament.

The tournament started Saturday at the NS Outdoor Range in barangay Tawason, Mandaue City.

Cortes graced the opening, which was attended by more than 250 marksmen composed of police officers, military personnel and civilian gun owners.

Because of the continuing success of the event, Cortes said he is planning for a bigger shooting tournament.

“For us this is just our testing ground,” said Cortes. “This competition is also a form of recreation and practice for our local police officers to improve their shooting skills and become more effective in our community,” he added.

Cortes said the support of the donors and sponsors is what makes the tournament successful.

Lowell Belarmino, the tournament range master, said the number of participants increased this year.

Participating teams this year are the Leyte Shooters Association (LEYSA), Ormoc Gun Club (ORGUN), Dumaguete Shooters Association, Cavs Masbate, Masbate Defense Gun Club, T-Alpha Albay, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team of Mandaue City, SWAT Team Cebu and Lapu-Lapu./CORRESPONDENT DALE G. ROSAL