VACCINE A MUST FOR TOKYO HOPEFULS–REP. MIKEE
HOUSE Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero is confident the Tokyo Olympics will push through this year and stressed on the importance of the Covid-19 vaccine for Filipino athletes preparing for the quadrennial event.
“Vaccine is a must for the Tokyo Olympics so I’m espousing a House resolution prioritizing Filipino athletes,” said Romero in a special appearance in the online Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday.
Romero, owner of the Philippine Basketball Association team Northport and member of the national polo team, said that even those preparing for the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi in November must get the vaccine.
“This is a chance of a lifetime for our athletes and the country to win an Olympic gold. And what we can do is to mitigate it by giving them vaccines,” Romero said.
Romero said the national athletes should be among those to be prioritized for vaccination, including the medical frontliners, senior citizens, police, military and the less-privileged.
The sports-minded congressman said the vaccines of various brands should arrive in the country in March or April, and will cover 80 million doses for 40 million Filipinos on two doses each.
Also gracing the forum is Northport representative to the PBA board of governors Erick Arejola, who expressed the readiness of the Batang Pier in the league’s 46th season that starts in April.
“We are currently signing the players [contracts]. They are doing individual training and we’re only waiting for the go-signal for team practices to resume,” Arejola said. “Our players are observing the health protocols,” he said.
To make sure that the athletes are prioritized, Romero told the forum presented by San Miguel Corp., Go For Gold, Milo, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., and powered by Smart with Upstream Media as webcast partner that he is “espousing a House resolution.”