The Senate wants the Philippines represented by the best team it can produce.
“Second, we are here to support in whatever capacity we can be it through legislation or funding and; third, that we have programs for the development of our basketball and sports programs.’’
These were stressed by Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva during the organizational meeting of the Senate sports committee chaired by Senator Christopher ‘’Bong’’ Go.
‘’We are here to support our athletes, coaches, our national sports association and the PSC (Philippine Sport Commission) We are not here to meddle with negotiations,’’ Villanueva pointed out.
The committee was briefed by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Games Amusement Board (GAB) on the current situation of the amateur and professional sports in the country.
Villanueva said he finished his education because of basketball, having played for the National Capital Region in the Palarong Pambansa.
He was also a player of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) basketball team which won the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) championship and represented the Philippines twice in international competitions.
In today’s briefing, PSC Chairperson Jose Emmanuel “Noli” M. Eala presented the agency’s strategic directions for the next five years.
Eala specified six strategic directions:
1) sports governance;
2) sports awareness;
3) sports accessibility;
4) sports facilities development;
5) sports linkages; and
6) high performance sports development.
“We hope that through all these initiatives we can continue to bring pride and glory to our country through the victories of our elite athletes, and also we hope to create more pathways for success for all of our people so that they may be involved in sports and help in our country’s nation building efforts,” Eala said.