The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) condemned the shooting incident happened recently during a sports event ceremony inside the Mindanao State University in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.
In a statement Monday, the PSC Board said sports events should be a celebration of camaraderie and peace.
“Sports events should be a gathering of sportsmen whose love for equality and peace are fostered through physical exercise and movement,” the statement read.
The government sports agency has been advocating its “Sports for Peace” program for the past years by holding countless sports events in Mindanao to reiterate the positive impact of sports in nation building.
Marawi has been one of the venues of this program and has also been one of the proposed areas for sports development.
PSC chairman Butch Ramirez, who is conferred Doctor of Humanities Honoris Causa by the university for his contribution to the Mindanao Sports for Peace movement, said they will coordinate with the council of elders in Marawi to avoid this type of incident from happening again.
“Let us not allow people with a penchant for violence mar the success of sports in the grassroots level. Let us all continue to be vigilant in our work for peace,” the statement read.
At least five people were injured in the incident that include Aripodin Mamacuna, 21, who was beaten up by a group near the MSU grandstand where a culmination ceremony for a Bangsamoro youth sports activity was ongoing.
An off-duty police personnel watching the ceremony responded, but was shot by the suspects.
The initial investigation pointed to a gang war as motive.