Developing winning national athletes
OUR beloved weightlifting champion, Hidilyn Diaz, started out as a 12-year-old girl who became interested in lifting weights when she saw her cousin Allen Jayrus Diaz exercising and practicing in the gym. She made do with barbells made from PVC pipes and concrete, and she persevered.
Our Pambansang Kamao, Senator Manny Pacquiao, started his path in boxing when he came to live at the house of his Uncle Sardo Mejia. After watching the Tyson versus Douglas match in 1990, Senator Manny knew he had to be a boxer. His uncle became his first coach, training him in a room converted into a gym at home.
Their stories tell us that every successful athlete starts out as a young person who simply wanted to play. But while these athletes seem to be born with an innate talent for a chosen sport, their interest and skills were developed through time.
Such greatness requires work on our part — that is, from the rest of society. We have to nurture young children who are interested in sports. We have to create an environment, an ecosystem where talented young amateurs can become professional athletes at the top of their respective games.
Arguably, in the past, there wasn’t much encouragement. From 2006 to 2016, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) only received about 1180 million a year. From 2015 to 2017, the Games and Amusement Board’s (GAB) budget didn’t go past 175 million or so. This is a far cry from Thailand, where, for 2019, the Sports Authority of Thailand had the equivalent of a 15.3-billion budget, and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports had
110.9 billion.
We are behind when it comes to high-quality sports infrastructure. Thailand has 68 stadiums, with the National Stadium of Bangkok having a seating capacity of 65,000. Vietnam has 50, with 13 stadiums having 20,000 to 28,000 seats. Singapore has 21, with their National Stadium having a 55,000 seating capacity. Our country has 20 stadiums that have a minimum of 10,000 seats each. Only the Philippine Arena can accommodate up to 55,000 people.
Then again, some might say that we do have high-quality sports facilities in the Philippines. But these are usually private facilities that have membership fees or strict entry requirements. If we are to encourage people from all walks of life to enjoy sports, we need public facilities accessible to as many potential national athletes as possible.
Thankfully, we have had recent positive developments. For example, the PSC’s budgets for 2017 and 2018 were raised to an average of 1236.4 million per year. Since we’re hosting the Southeast Asian Games this year, the 2019 budget has been raised to 15.393 billion. The GAB’s annual budget for 2017 to 2019 has been raised to an average of
1143.9 million yearly, with next year’s allocation pegged at 1123 million.
The incentives for our coaches, athletes, and trainers have also improved, thanks to Republic Act 10699. Today, an Olympic gold medal will be rewarded with 110 million, while a gold medal in the Asian Games will have an incentive worth 12 million. Our athletes with disabilities, too, will have similar incentives, as a gold medal win in the Paralympics – and, incidentally, the Youth Olympics – will be rewarded with 15 million.
But as encouraging as these developments are, we should think of longterm strategies and lasting national
institutions. The creation of Sports Academies around the country comes to mind, which we have done before through legislation.
Another is the establishment of a Philippine High School for Sports, or the National Academy for Sports for high school students, which President Duterte expressed his support for during his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA).
We must remember that sports excellence is a product of years of selection, training, and competition. Our winning athletes will not just magically appear. They will start as children who are merely interested in sports.
It is from a large talented amateur pool that we will be able to train more top-level athletes. And to do this, we must have the right equipment, widely accessible sports facilities, and, of course, coaches and trainers who can guide athletic training and development.
This is an endeavor that will need the whole of our nation. The government, the private sector, schools, companies, families – all of them should encourage those who might become the next Manny Pacquiao, or Hidilyn Diaz. Just as it takes an entire village to raise a child, so, too, does it take an entire nation to train winning Olympiclevel athletes.
Senator Sonny Angara has been in public service for 15 years — 9 years as Representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and 6 as Senator. He has authored and sponsored more than 200 laws. He recently won another term in the Senate.