Get hooked on sports!
If we want to keep our young people away from violence, vices and negative influences, let us bring them closer to sports and other meaningful activities.
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If we want to keep our young people away from violence, vices and negative influences, let us bring them closer to sports and other meaningful activities.
I have long been advocating for Filipinos, especially our youth, to get into sports. Physical activities can help shape healthier, more disciplined and more productive young Filipinos. At a time when children and adolescents are spending more of their day on smartphones, other digital devices and social media, sports can provide them with a healthy and meaningful alternative to excessive screen time.
On 20 August during the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality hearing, I emphasized that I would rather see our youth get hooked on sports than get hooked on social media. But do not get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with social media. Our modern life demands it. Social media plays a very important role; without it, life would be less convenient. But as with anything in life, anything in excess is not good — both for our body, our mind and our overall existence.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 80 percent of adolescents do not meet the recommended levels of physical activity. The WHO recommends that children and adolescents engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. It also encourages limiting recreational screen time, as an excessively inactive lifestyle can be associated with poorer physical fitness, behavioral outcomes and reduced sleep.
As a sports advocate and an athlete myself, I believe we should continue creating an environment where sports activities are accessible and attractive to our youth. We need more safe playing spaces, better facilities, stronger grassroots programs and greater support for schools and communities that encourage young people to participate in sports.
At the same time, our message should not be that technology is the enemy. What we should aim for is to ensure that it is used responsibly and appropriately for our children’s age. If we want to keep our young people away from violence, vices and negative influences, let us bring them closer to sports and other meaningful activities.
Get into sports, stay away from drugs, to keep us healthy and fit!
As chairman of the Senate Committees on Sports and on Youth, I always call for stronger grassroots sports development so that young athletes do not have to rely solely on personal resources or chance discovery before receiving serious training support. Let us remember that investing in grassroots sports is also investing in our country’s future.
Since assuming the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Sports in 2019, we oversaw the committee during a period when Philippine athletes delivered major international results, including the country’s first Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games and a twin gold-medal performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
We then played a key role in creating the National Academy of Sports (NAS) by authoring and co-sponsoring Republic Act 11470, which established the institution. Located in New Clark City, Capas, Tarlac, NAS combines secondary education with a sports-focused curriculum, offering a dual path for student-athletes to excel in their sports and academic endeavors.
As we aim to establish regional NAS campuses to give more student-athletes outside Luzon the same opportunity, we filed Senate Bill 171, or the proposed National Academy of Sports Regional Expansion Bill.
As sponsor of the sports budget in the Senate, we have advocated for support for the country’s sports development programs, including the repair and improvement of key sports facilities, such as the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila and the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Meanwhile, on 17 August we personally delivered assistance to 154 fire victims in Malate, Manila, despite the heavy downpour.
On 19 August we also assisted 118 beneficiaries who lost their homes in a fire in Pasay City.
The next day, we were invited to attend the Liga ng mga Barangay Congress-Catanduanes Chapter, where we urged our barangay officials on their role in maintaining peace and security at the community level.
The previous week, our Malasakit Team also extended their help to various kababayans in need as they immediately aided fire victims in Roxas City, Capiz; San Carlos City, Negros Occidental; and Burauen, Leyte.
With the recent heavy rains in Metro Manila and other parts of the Philippines, various affected families were also assisted, such as the landslide and habagat victims in Baguio City; Malolos City and Bulakan, Bulacan; Dinalupihan, Bataan; Narvacan, Ilocos Sur; Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan; and Candaba and Guagua, Pampanga; and landslide victims from Atok and La Trinidad, Benguet.
Indigent residents in Pasig City also received aid from our team. Furthermore, scholars from Calamba, Misamis Occidental, and Floridablanca, Pampanga, received assistance from our team.
Additionally, we were also represented by our Malasakit Team during the turnover of the Super Health Center in Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat, where we also provided assistance to barangay health workers.
As your Mr. Malasakit, I will continue to serve Filipinos to the best of my ability dahil bisyo ko ang magserbisyo at naniniwala ako na ang serbisyo sa tao ay serbisyo sa Diyos.
