The Manila Chief Executive’s acceptance was relayed yesterday by his son, Manila Sports Council chair Ali Atienza to SCOOP president Eddie Alinea of Tempo-Bulletin.
The elder Atienza will, thus, lead the awarding of recognitions to the 23 Filipino athletes and a pair of national squads who gifted the country honors in the different international competitions they took part in as the world and Asian championships and the Southeast Asian Games in the past year.
Former International Boxing Federation super bantamweight champion Manny Pacquiao heads the 2003 awardees. He will be honored with the Gawad Pancho Villa Barako as Achiever of the Year, the highest accolade SCOOP is giving out.
SCOOP has, likewise, invited the country’s highest sports officials, including International Olympic Committee representative to the Philippines Frank Elizalde, Philippine Sports Commission chair Eric Buhain and his commissioners and Philippine Olympic Committee president Celso Dayrit and all heads of national sports associations.
Also invited are Philippine Basketball Association chair Buddy Encarnado, past chair Jun Cabalan and commissioner Noli Eala, Philippine Basketball League chair Dioceldo Sy and commissioner Chino Trinidad.
Friday’s affair is sponsored by San Miguel Corp., the Philippine Sports Commission, Mayor Atienza, Pantalan Restaurant and Photokina Marketing and supported by Samsung Electronics Philippines, Airfreight 2100 and the POC.
Besides Pacquiao, also to be feted are world champions Christian Jan Suarez and the RP three-woman team in bowling, Arvin Ting and Rene Catalan in wushu, and the Bacolod City Girls Softball Team as well as Southeast Asian Games multi-gold medalists Mark Paragua, Marcus Valda, Rexel Ryan Fabriga, Willie Wang and Lee Van Corteza.