Noted drug-buster Yogi Ruiz drums up “Sports for All” advocacy in Cebu City
Believing in the transformative power of sports in nationbuilding, former customs commissioner and well known drug-buster Yogi Filemon Ruiz has laid down the framework of his “Sports for All” advocacy for the City of Cebu in the hope of not only harnessing the skills of potential athletes but also help them to become better individuals and good citizens of the country.
“As a concerned citizen of the community and an avid sportsman myself, I am here to promote a genuine sports advocacy program for the Cebuanos. I am a believer of sports being a vital part of nationbuilding because sports are the best way to promote teamwork, humanity, brotherhood, and leadership qualities among others,” said Ruiz in a press conference at the Feria restaurant of Radisson Blu Hotel on Thursday night.
“Sports is an integral element of life that has so many benefits. Apart from nurturing a healthy lifestyle, it also provides job opportunities in the future. It can take people to great heights,” added the longtime practitioner of Balintawak arnis and a recreational boxer who has already made known his desire to run for mayor of Cebu City in next year’s elections.
Ruiz, the first Cebuano commissioner of the Bureau of Customs, said his intensive barangay-based grassroots program for a worthy cause that will cover all 80 villages of the city aims to develop the athletic talents and at the same time combat the two kinds of addiction plaguing the youth today.
It’s something that Ruiz had been doing during his time as regional director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)7 a few years back.
“There is a new kind of addiction that has been victimizing our youth today - the gadget addiction. Cellphones, tablets, laptop, computers are equally dangerous as drug addiction that we had been fighting for years. These two addictions, however, can be addressed with a comprehensive sports program that I will be launching in March,” said Ruiz.
“In the age of gadgets, it is one way to make our kids productive and at the same time keep the youth away from bad vices especially drugs,” Ruiz furthered. “We will be appointing a focal person in each barangay to see what they need in order to achieve the goals of the program.”
More importantly, Ruiz finds sports as a vital tool in shaping character and molding individuals with a sense of purpose and meaning in the society.
“In sports, we build character and learn values that are applicable to our daily living. And I want to promote a “sports for all” endeavor that caters to everyone including the marginalized sector of our society as well as in sporting fields that are given less support but we have a high chance to excel on the international stage,” Ruiz said.
Aside from basketball, Ruiz is setting his sights on boxing, volleyball, table tennis, tennis, dragon boat, chess, skateboarding, and arnis as his priority.
Ruiz said he ventures into sports as part of his vision to help protect the youth and give back in public service to the city that has given him so much, where he rose from being a waiter, a granite salesman and a City Hall employee, among the jobs he took before rising to the top positions up to the national level.
“Sports involves so much dedication and commitment. Furthermore, the purpose of sports is not just winning but also to learn through failures and continuously persevere, a transformative experience one can have in life to become better persons and good citizens of the country,” said Ruiz. “At the end of the day, the winner will be the Cebuano youth.”