The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) confirmed Tuesday the renewal of the tripartite agreement with the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) granting detailed service for national athletes
PSC Acting Executive Director Atty. Guillermo Iroy Jr. said they are already working on the list of athletes who are in the military after the agreement expired last May.
In the letter to the AFP, the PSC requested 78 athletes and 52 coaches from 19 sports to be detailed.
The development came after a meeting with POC and AFP officials on Tuesday that included Chief of AFP Special Service Unit Col, Rocky Binag, POC Secretary General Atty Ed Gastanes, National Sports Association Affairs head Annie Ruiz and Iroy.
Iroy hoped the agreement would be finalized by mid-August.
However, Olympic qualifiers and those who have high chances of qualified to the Tokyo Games next year will be prioritized to the current coronavirus pandemic where the country needs as many military frontliners as possible.
The goal is to have the athletes focused on their training for the Olympics and the qualifiers.
Among the national athletes serving in the military are three-time Olympian and 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz of weightlifting and Tokyo-bound boxer Eumir Marcial, both of them enlisted in the Air Force which already gave them the go-signal to resume training.
Some soldier-athletes are on active duty due to the global health crisis, juggling their time between training and being at the frontlines.