Sports: always forgotten during elections

It’s the heat of campaign season, and candidates are trying to find more creative ways to hook the savvy Filipino viewer who knows an election bid when he sees it. Of course, political alliances being what they are, voters now have to dig to find which party a certain candidate was with last election, and if they really accomplished anything. But there is one area which politicians rarely touch, and often ignore. 

How many politicians have ran on a platform of sports. Even those who advocate healthy lifestyle veer more towards nutrition than actual fitness. It’s sad to think that it was only during the presidencies of Ferdinand Marcos and Fidel Ramos that sports saw its most glorious days. Our athletes did not need to worry about where their resources were coming from, and politicking took a back seat to actual performance. And except for a brief glorious time in 2005 when our athletes reached the zenith of the Southeast Asian Games here, our sports program has needed help out of the quagmire it has been in.

Why is it that candidates for public office don’t touch sports? Firstly, the vast majority of them don’t understand it, particularly the older elected officials. They don’t speak the language and don’t see the value. Besides, save for a very few who actually even engage in the casual game of golf, they don’t have the energy or time to indulge in sports. And since they don’t play, it doesn’t interest them even if millions of others engage in physical activity.

Secondly, you can’t hang a billboard on a healthy populace. You can’t grab credit for it. But you can put up a sign that says you built a “multi-purpose” covered court that is actually used more for disaster relocation, proms, dances, declamation contests, cooking demos, prayer rallies, exhibits, speeches, and other gatherings than actual sporting events. In some cases, these venues are just used by weekend players, not organized competitions or fitness activities.

Third, sports is still looked at as a luxury in many places where basic necessities are scarce. But the opposite should be true. Even moderate exercise would be an untold boost not just to health, but peace and order, since the youth would have a place to use up all their excess energy, instead of indulging in less wholesome activities. New data reveals that in the US, lack of sleep could account for up to $63 billion in lost productivity. This is a simple problem that could be solved by daily moderate exercise.

Fourth, sports is considered a technical endeavor. You need instructors, equipment, other facilities. That is simply a belief that has not been updated. You don’t need special equipment for calisthenics, aerobics, dancing or martial arts. Cebu has two Guinness World Records in ballroom dancing and chess, two of the most inexpensive sports. You could add arnis, running, open water swimming, walking, self-defense classes, boxing, and other sports as part of a low-cost fitness regimen.

Fifth, there is no continuity in local politics. Incumbent officials can only really plan for three to six years at the most. That is not enough for a concrete, comprehensive sports development program. Besides, every time we replace government officials – even at the level of the Philippine Sports Commission – the new officials discontinue the programs of their predecessors, no matter how good they were. The original Covenant for Philippine Sports was a major breakthrough during the Ramos Administration. Now it is sitting on a shelf somewhere, gathering dust.

Sixth, many politicians only become interested in sports when their children start playing. But kids grow up, change their minds, hang out with different crowds, or get influenced by relationships with the opposite sex. So when they stop playing, their parents stop caring. They have many other things on their minds, anyway.

Seventh, sports can be a drain on the budget. Why spend on a sporting event (unless it guarantees great mileage), when you can spend it more on traditional programs? Roman Caesars started the trend of bread and circuses, wherein you simply give temporary relief to hunger and suffering, and provide distracting entertainment. You just want to decrease the people’s dissatisfaction just enough for them to not revolt. That principle has withstood the test of time. Why focus on long-term gains of health when some telenovela stars singing onstage makes you popular with the masses?

At the end of the day, it is more convenient to plug in other programs that simply entertain or temporarily feed people, even if it doesn’t solve anything. You don’t know how long you’re going to be in office, anyway, right? Why invest in something that will outlive you?