FPJ vows support for Olympians

In what could be the very first statement made by a presidential aspirant on the country’s medal hopes in the coming Olympics in Athens, opposition bet Fernando Poe Jr. yesterday veered away from making the "usual political statements" by rallying the nation to support the Filipino athletes competing in the Olympic Games in August.

Describing himself as a true sportsman and a big sports fan, Poe urged the nation to support and "pray that a Filipino athlete would win a gold medal in Athens."

"We have long been waiting for an Olympic gold medal. Isa po ito sa magiging tagumpay ng Pilipino kung mayroon tayong kababayan na magwawagi sa Olimpyada,"said Poe.

Poe named sports as one of his priorities should he win the presidency, saying sports is among the "vital foundations of a healthy society. Sports will also help bring out the competitiveness in the Filipino."

Among Poe’s envisioned sports programs include the "Bayani ng Bayan," which he described as a "program for medal production for Pinoy athletes," and the "Palaro sa Bawat Barangay," a genuine grassroots approach to sports talent identification, skills training and education and development.

The "Palaro sa Bawat Barangay" will be "the ultimate mass-based sports program to encourage Filipinos to pick up a game where future world champions will rise from," Poe said.

"We will make a sports calendar that will work, with a synchronized roster anchored on the "Palaro sa Bawat Barangay, which will be a continuing program where top athletes will advance to the regional games," added Poe.

Aside from being known as a horse owner and one of the leading supporters of the country’s horse racing industry, Poe is also a self-avowed basketball fan, a billiards enthusiast, boxing practitioner and had taken up a few more other disciplines when he was younger.

The leading presidential bet even provided a glimpse of his program as he went into details of his sports platform.

According to Poe, top performers in the regional games will advance to the National Championships, where the government will work together with other stakeholders that include the national sports associations (NSAs) and the Philippine Olympic Committee, which will, in turn, identify talents who will be given a chance to represent the country in various international tournaments."

"The Regional and National Championships shall be biennial events, held in between the Asian Games and the Olympics, for which the National Games are designed and should not be interrupted."

"We also believe that government should fully support elite sports, provide our top athletes with venues that would make them feel at par with their international counterparts, and encourage them to pursue quality education through scholarships that would come in handy after their retirement."

"We will also encourage the POC and the Philippine Sports Commission to select priority sports, which will be given special support in terms of training top athletes who will be given international exposures. We will do this in our quest of winning our very first Olympic gold medal," Poe said.

"Our dream, however, does not end with an Olympic gold. We believe that excellence is a continuing process and should always be upheld."

"Sa pagkakaisa ng lahat nakasalalay ang pag-asa natin na makait ang tagumpay sa larangan ng sports. Without unity, there would be no honest-to-goodness sports program for both grassroots and elite sports. Panahon na upang magtagumpay tayo sa Olimpyada!" said Poe.