Former water polo national team stalwart Dale Evangelista said the program of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno to turn the city into a water polo capital might face a hitch as the National Capital Region and nearby provinces returned to stricter measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The program was supposed to start this April but the spike in virus cases and the implementation of Enhanced Community Quarantine meant a setback to the grand plan of Moreno and the national team.

“We understand that. The important thing is the safety of everyone, and will just follow the lead of Mayor Isko,” said Evangelista, who played for the national team for almost 20 years.

He said the start of the program would be moved to May or June if the surge of cases ceases in Manila. Evangelista also expressed confidence that the vaccination program of the city is running well which may help alleviate the effects of the pandemic.

“Also, the vaccination program of Manila is moving smoothly. So we’re very optimistic na maibababa ang number of cases in the coming weeks (So we’re very optimistic that we’ll bring down the number of cases in the coming weeks),” Evangelista added.

Showing support to the frontliners, Evangelista provided rehydration drinks to the men and women at the police force Wednesday since outdoor training is prohibited and aquatics centers are temporarily closed.

Evangelista delivered boxes of rehydration drinks Wednesday morning to different police stations in Tondo Manila, knowing that the police force needed it more as they returned to checkpoint areas as Metro Manila.

“Mas kailangan ng mga ka-pulisan natin ang kahit anong tulong na puwede natin ibigay sa kanila (Our police officers need all the help that we can give),” Evangelista said.

“Kaya naisip ko, since wala pa namang training, mas maigi na sila muna ang gumamit (Since we’re not training, better for them to have it at this moment).”