Poe urges deeper LGU involvement in sports

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Grace Poe yesterday said local government leaders should help the sports sector in identifying potential talents who could become the country’s next sports heroes.

Poe made the remark amid the Philippines’ campaign to win more slots in next year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Only Filipino-American Eric Shauwn Cray has so far made it in athletics, with more Filipino athletes still set to campaign in various Olympic qualifying tournaments to earn their tickets to the world’s biggest sporting event.

“Our country is made up of a hundred million people. To have only one Olympian to represent a hundred million Filipinos doesn’t seem right,” Poe, a taekwondo blackbelter and one-time silver medalist in the National Open, said.

Poe said current government funding for elite athletes, or those competing in international tournaments as members of various national teams, cannot compare with the high budgets allocated by other countries for their sports programs, but local government units could boost grassroots sports development by helping spot and develop more athletes with the potential to qualify for the various national teams.

“Our youth is our future. Let us invest in them – their overall wellbeing, including sports development. This should be our collective responsibility. Let us give our young athletes the push and the support they deserve,” Poe said.

Poe also said government leaders should not rely solely on the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and its partner-stakeholders – the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the various national sports associations (NSAs). She pointed out that most Filipinos start their involvement in sports right in their communities.

“Our children get their first exposure to sports in their own backyards,” Poe said. “Nakikita nila mga kuya at mga tiyo nila na nagba-basketball, mga ate at tita na nagba-badminton. We are responsible for giving them the chance to improve in the sport they prefer. Local government units should make those sports opportunities available to them.”

Poe also lamented the diminishing minutes allocated to sports in schools.

“The only saving grace our young student-athletes have are the Palarong Pambansa and the Batang Pinoy Games. But these are normally undertaken by the schools, the LGUs must involve themselves deeper in these activities. Hindi p’wede na basketball at volleyball summer leagues lang ang pinagkaka-abalahan ng barangays.”

“Many of the athletes who emerge from these Games have already been pinpointed by coaches and scouts from the NSAs. We pass on the opportunity of discovering more athletes in the mold of Shiella Mae Perez, the retired champion diver who was discovered playing in the port of Davao City. Marami pang kabataan na katulad nya ang hindi natin nakikita dahil hindi tayo tumutulong na maghanap.”

Poe said the PSC, the government’s funding agency for sports, could help map which sports LGUs would have a strong chance of developing further.

These, she said, would help start the resurgence of interest in sports while complementing government endeavors, including anti-drug, peace and order and family-related programs.