CHEd approves training restart
The commission en banc approved the guidelines crafted by the TWG with some amendments
Collegiate players may start seeing action sooner than expected after the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) formally approved the training guidelines crafted by a technical working group (TWG).
CHEd chairman Popoy de Vera yesterday said their commission en banc formally approved the guidelines towards the safe resumption of training of collegiate teams seeing action in various leagues like the University Athletic Association of the Philippines and National Collegiate Athletic Association.
De Vera said they have already instructed the en banc to forward its approval to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases for endorsement.
A press conference would be called before the week ends to release the full guidelines.
“The commission en banc approved the guidelines crafted by the TWG with some amendments,” De Vera told Daily Tribune in an interview following their meeting.
“We have instructed the TWG to present the amendments to the IATF-TWG tomorrow and the IATF proper on Thursday. Then, we will have a press conference on Friday to clarify everything and release the full guidelines to the public.”
The agency started crafting the guidelines last month in the wake of the controversial “Sorsogon bubble,” the illegal training conducted by the University of Santo Tomas at the height of the community quarantine.
De Vera said this incident forced the Philippine Sports Commission, Games and Amusement Board and Department of Health to craft guidelines that would legalize collegiate training.
He said their approved guidelines would be different from that of the joint administrative order group, which previously issued the green light for the resumption of professional sports like the Philippine Basketball Association and Philippine Football League.
“We are just giving them options for their training. They can do it remotely or online,” de Vera explained.
“And we are also making sure that the schools will secure consents from parents. If the parents are not confident with their children returning to training, they can resort to online training.”
De Vera said some universities and colleges raised financial issues during their meeting.
He said these university teams do not have corporate sponsors like professional teams and their finances solely depend on the athletic fee collected during enrollment.
They are also concern about accountability, especially if student-athletes contract virus while in training.
“They are concerned that they may be investing in training, but there has yet to be a definite timetable on the return to training,” he said.
“But my point is that this was how professional sports started. They began with training first then they were able to secure the green light for the return of games. It’s a step-by-step process. We really have to wait.”