President Estrada: Get politics out of sports

Saying sports is not politics, President Estrada asked sports leaders to leave politics to politicians in his message as the sporting community honored the best and brightest Filipino athletes - past and present - during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Awards Night Friday at the Holiday Inn Manila.

"(The President) is distressed that it is not only our athletes who are engaged in competition, but even our sports leaders. It is easy to say that this is but part of politics and rivalries in leadership. But sports is not politics, kaya ang pakiusap niya sa mga sports leaders, iwan na ninyo sa ating mga pulitiko ang pulitika," said San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada in delivering his father's speech in the blue-ribbon ceremonies.

President Estrada missed the affair as he was preparing for his yesterday's state of the nation address but nonetheless paid tribute to the country's sporting heroes in his message.

"These outstanding Filipino sports personalities have contributed much to the growth and development of sports in our country. They make us proud for the achievements that they have made not only in the country, but also abroad. Their achievements become even more significant because their examples now serve as an inspiration to the countless young men and women who seek to excel in sports competition," he said.

Leading the honorees is billiards king Efren "Bata" Reyes, whose triumphs in the world pool championship in Wales and the 20th Southeast Asian Games in Brunei have made him the hands-down choice for the Athlete of the Year award.

Eleven men and women, picked by the PSA as the Athletes of the Millennium, and four revered men whose vision and dedicated service helped shape RP sports were also honored.

Named Millennium Athletes were Paeng Nepomuceno and Olivia "Bong" Coo (bowling), Pancho Villa and Gabriel "Flash" Elorde (professional boxing), Lydia de Vega (athletics), Carlos Loyzaga (basketball), Felicisimo Ampon (tennis), Mansueto Velasco, Jr. and Anthony Villanueva (amateur boxing), Teofilo Yldefonso (swimming) and Eugene Torre (chess).

Bestowed the honor of Sports Leaders of the Millennium are Dr. Regino Ylanan, Sen. Ambrosio Padilla, world chess federation honorary president Florencio Campomanes and basketball's Gonzalo "Lito" Puyat II.

The President noted that sports in the country remains alive and well, and not dying, but said it must not only be alive but also active and dynamic.

"This awards night must serve not only as an occasion to celebrate the accomplishments of our athletes and sports leaders and personalities. It must also be an occasion for reflection and renewal of the direction of our sports program in the country," he said.

The young Estrada also paid homage to the sports heroes, saying "they have carved a strong sporting tradition in our country, and now they deliver to us a distinguished legacy that must be nourished, that must be nurtured, that must serve as values to reinforce the foundations of our sports program.

"We pay tribute to these great men and women because their respective careers express the celebration of determination, of talent and skills, of dedication and commitment, and most importantly of discipline."

In closing, Jinggoy announced that his father has specifically ordered making sports development a priority of his administration and called on all to unite and help each other in overcoming the big obstacles that is the lack of funds.

The ceremonies, sponsored by Agfa Color and Red Bull, will be aired by Vintage Television on IBC-13 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday.