LONDON – Community leader Andy Villalba, a Cagayan de Oro native who has lived in the UK for over 25 years, is surprised why the country’s sports officials appear to be paranoid in showing up to join functions celebrating the participation of 11 Filipino athletes in the Olympics here.
“I don’t understand it,” said Villalba, a paralegal with Charles Annon Solicitors. “They seem to be afraid of public reaction to the fact that no Filipino athlete has won a medal. I think that’s the reason why they avoid media in coming to functions where the local Filipino community just wants to greet the athletes for making it to the Olympics. There’s reason to be proud. It’s not just about winning medals. We, Filipinos in the UK, are proud that our country is represented in the Olympics. It doesn’t matter to us whether we win or lose. It’s about how proud we are to represent our country.”
Villalba, 43, earned a degree in hotel and restaurant management as a Rocco Forte scholar at the Cavendish School here. He worked five years in the hotel industry then joined a telecommunications company before receiving a Bureau of Immigration Authority certificate to practice as a paralegal with the Charles Annon firm. Villalba is the moving spirit behind the formation of the Mindanao-UK Association which assists migrant workers from job placement to health care services to immigration issues.
“Before the Philippine delegation arrived, we got a double-decker bus which we wanted to decorate with Philippine symbols and logos with the slogan It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” said Villalba. “We thought of making the Philippine delegation use it during the Olympics. It was our way of welcoming the delegation and showing our support. But we were surprised when our sports officials declined it. They didn’t want to make a big splash because they were afraid of the backlash in media, that people might misinterpret the participation in the Olympics as a junket or fun trip. On the contrary, we thought it would be a good way to promote our country. In the Olympics, it’s not just about winning. Everyone knows how difficult it is to win Olympics medals so that just by making it to the Olympics is already a big achievement. That’s what we wanted to express. We wanted to show national pride.”
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Villalba said he has closely monitored the progress of the Filipino athletes here. “We were disappointed in boxing because we thought Mark (Anthony Barriga) should’ve won but that’s sports,” he said. “He fought courageously and for us Filipinos in the UK, that’s more than enough. He made us proud to be Filipinos just like the other athletes. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t fare well. I’m sure our sports officials will address the problems we faced here so that we can improve next time. But we should take the opportunity to showcase our Olympians to the Filipino community, win or lose.”
Villalba has attended three functions so far involving the Philippine delegation. The first was an arrival lunch for the first batch of athletes in Surrey. Then came the Embassy function with Philippine Ambassador Enrique Manalo hosting and finally, a dinner at Raffy Landicho’s home in Hamstead. “We were requested not to invite media to the last function because no Filipino athlete has done well,” said Villalba. “But there’s nothing to be ashamed of. I don’t think our countrymen will crucify anyone for representing our country in the Olympics with honor.”
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Philippine delegation chef de mission Manny Lopez himself said while the Filipino athletes’ performance has been far from impressive, they should be applauded for their courageous efforts in competition.
“One or two years of training for the Olympics won’t be enough because the standards of competition today are so high,” said Lopez. “It will take at least six years to develop world-class athletes. We won’t make any excuses. Our judoka Tomo (Hoshina) went up against the world’s No. 5 contender and World Cup champion from South Korea and was struck out in the first round. Our swimmers fell short of their personal best but they’re young and inexperienced. Jasmine (Alkhaldi) and Jessie (Khing Lacuna) are only teenagers in their first Olympics. Our archers Mark (Javier) and Rachelle (Anne Cabral-de la Cruz) looked very nervous against higher seeded opponents. Our shooter (Brian Rosario) shot a perfect 25 in the third round but it was too late to recover from consecutive misses in the second round but proved he can be among the world’s best. Our weightlifter Hidilyn (Diaz) got affected by an accident in her first clean-and-jerk attempt. I think this experience showed how important it is to support our athletes with mental and psychological conditioning. In boxing, Mark should’ve won over his Kazakh opponent.”
Clearly, there are steps that must be taken to improve the performance of Filipino athletes in the Olympics from raising the standards of coaching to providing international exposure to getting rid of overstaying National Sports Association presidents or sports officials who are ineffective to making sure funds from Pagcor are remitted to the PSC as mandated by law to retaining the services of sports psychologists to prioritizing the participation in sports where Filipinos could excel to creating a positive training environment and to applying sports science in various aspects like nutrition, strength and conditioning for the benefit of elite performers.
At this point, constructive criticism is vital to move forward in the pursuit of the country’s quest for that elusive Olympic gold medal. Castigating sports officials or athletes is tempting because it makes for good copy especially after an Olympic debacle. But negativism has a way of turning off potential supporters and benefactors of sports. Instead of ranting and raving, we should all be redirected to a path that will lead to a bright future. That path can start with learning from this Olympic experience.