Sports getting big boost under Marcos admin

Do not be surprised if sports would again be part of the conversation when President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. delivers his fourth State of the Nation Address on Monday at the Batasang Pambansa.

There is no doubt that Filipino athletes have gained tremendous success in the previous year, giving the Chief Executive a good reason to highlight them in the formal opening of the 20th Congress.

Aside from the smooth operation of grassroots sports program that led to the emergence of countless of young athletes, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), under the leadership of former chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann, had successfully collaborated with the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) in preparing the national squad in the Paris Olympics last year.

Their collaboration had yielded a very positive result as Filipino athletes brought home two gold and two bronze medals to underscore their best finish ever in the Summer Olympics.

Carlos Yulo, a diminutive gymnast from a poor district in Manila, was the star of the show as he copped two gold medals while boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas emerged with bronze medals apiece, formally marking the peak of Philippine sports’ golden generation that started when weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won a gold medal in the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021.

“No words can express how proud we are of you,” the President told Yulo shortly after his Paris conquest that installed him as the best Filipino Olympian ever.

“You have achieved gold for the Philippines not once — but twice!”

But the mission is far from done. The Marcos administration is looking to sustain this success by replacing Bachmann with an equally competent leader in Patrick “Pato” Gregorio.

Armed with more than two decades of experience in sports administration, the 57-year-old Gregorio hit the ground running, making sure that the government support to Filipino athletes would he felt from the elite all the way to the grassroots level.

Within 72 hours since his appointment as PSC chief on 1 July, Gregorio immediately uplifted the standard of living of the national athletes by coming up with a P5,000 across-the-board increase in their allowances.

He also established a 24/7 hotline to attend to the medical and other urgent needs of the athletes while improving improving their food and nutritional needs as well as refurbishing government-owned sports facilities at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Philsports compound and Teachers Camp to make sure that no Filipino athlete will train in dusty and dilapidated venue.

Gregorio said he instituted these changes after getting a marching order from the President to “take care of the athletes.”

“Improve facilities, take care of athletes, healthy citizenry, these were my marching orders from the President,” Gregorio said, adding that sustaining the glory in the international arena remains the top priority of the Marcos administration.

“He also told me to get more gold medals, more victories, and how to improve our fifth-place finish in the last Southeast Asian Games.”

More than elite and grassroots sports, the President is also putting a special premium on sports tourism.

In fact, the First Family is taking an active role in the country’s hosting of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship this September with no less than the Presidential Son, Vincent “Vinny” Marcos serving as co-chairman of the local organizing committee.

The hosting is similar to what was done in the past when the country hosted the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019 and the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023.

“It was fantastic to see how committed the President (Marcos) is in promoting volleyball and it’s fantastic to see the volleyball euphoria in the Philippines,” International Volleyball Federation secretary general Fabio Azevedo said after witnessing the Chief Executive’s passion in making the event a success.

Truly, Filipino athletes occupy a special place in the President’s heart.

And with the way things are going, it seems that the support is paying off.