Pres Cory and PSC; arnis in Cebu

Today is the third death anniversary of President Corazon C. Aquino who succumbed, after a long battle, to colon cancer at 3:09 a.m. on August 1, 2009, at the Makati Medical Center. A relative of President Cory who was at her bedside a few minutes after the democracy icon rejoined Our Lord relayed the sad news. It was a long and courageous battle that started when the cancer was discovered around Holy Week of March 2008.

What followed was a tremendous outpouring of admiration for a woman who, before she died, repeatedly expressed to her family and loved ones, her desire for a simple wake and funeral “since, I don’t want to presume people will go out of their way to attend the wake and funeral.” She was wrong, people, by the millions, attended the wake at La Salle Green Hills and the Manila Cathedral and the kilometric funeral cortege from the Manila Cathedral to the Manila Memorial Park, her, and husband, Ninoy’s final resting place.

In her lifetime, Pres. Cory was remembered for many things, the first of which was leading the fight for restoring democracy; clean and honest elections; a free press; and an independent Congress and judiciary, a liberalized economy, a level playing field, respect for and protection of human rights and social justice and good governance.

Not many appreciate the fact that it was during the latter part of her term, on her 58th birthday on January 25, 1991, she signed the law creating the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

In December 1991, Manila hosted the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) and by capturing 91 gold medals, the Philippines displayed its best ever performance since it joined the biennial meet in 1978. The 91-gold medal output was just one gold medal shy of powerhouse Indonesia. The Indonesians won their final and 92nd gold medal in a dramatic finish capped by its victory in the marathon a few hours before the closing ceremonies.

Twenty-one years after its establishment, the PSC, in partnership with the National Sports Associations (NSAs) and despite the lack of real solid relationships with other sectors such as the Department of Education, the Department of Interior and Local Government and local governments, has, on balance, some pluses and many minuses in its scorecard.

The PSC has the following to show after spending billions of pesos since 1991: hundreds of gold, silver and bronze medals in the SEA Games, Asian Games and world championships; the country’s first overall championship in the SEA Games held in Manila in 2005; a silver medal in boxing in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics; the lack of a sports master plan and a mass-based sports program which could help spell out the role of Philippine sports as an engine (and not a mere by-product) of sports and the “murder” of the Philippine Institute of Sports (PHILSPORTS).  

The PHILSPORTS is of special concern since it will help form the backbone of a solid sports development plan which is, in turn, hinged on a coaching network equipped with relevant technology and science. It should be obvious that the pace of sports development will be dictated by giant leaps in sciences.

The quantum leaps in technology have allowed countries taking sport seriously to vigorously push their sport agenda forward. Unfortunately, the unequivocal revival or creation of the PHILSPORTS is not found in the draft of Sen. Antonio Trillanes III’s law creating the Department of Sports.

We just hope that despite our shortcomings, we will give a good account of ourselves in the ongoing London Olympics. As some people have said, “do not be surprised, if we pull off some surprises.”

On another front, the 12th World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (WEKAF) World Championships in Cebu were successfully staged by the Canete family and the Doce Pares group led by Val Pableo from July 19 to 21 at the Cebu International Convention Center. Held before a huge crowd of martial arts aficionados, the championships had an international cast from big countries such as the United States to tiny nations like the Reunion Islands. Tournament guests included golfer Iggy Clavecilla, representing the PSC, and Rudy Velayo, president of Arnis Philippines, Inc.

Our good friend from grade school and high school days, ex-University of the Philippines Maroon, Jojo de la Fuente won the 60-year old and above division after beating his US-based opponent.

We had the privilege of delivering our message as guest of honor. In our speech, we stated, among others, the fundamental value of a great martial artist is not to provoke trouble but to avoid it. This peculiar tenet of martial arts prescribes that those who possess great skill in fighting and can inflict serious injury must avoid direct confrontational action. In short, martial artists should be men and women of peace.