The Senate Committee on Sports is ready to investigate the controversial incident which involved a 17-year old yellow belt taekwondo student who was severely injured during a sparring session by a black belter. 

Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, chairman of the Senate sports panel said he finds it “very distressing” how a neophyte was mercilessly beaten by a male black belter almost twice her size during their practice session.

“Sparring sessions are designed to hone the skills of our budding athletes. They are not intended to injure or potentially kill them,” Go said in a statement.

“Bilang chair ng Senate Committee on Sports, interes nating hindi na maulit ang insidenteng ito. Kung kinakailangan ay magpatawag tayo ng imbestigasyon upang tingnan kung merong kailangang amyendahan sa ating mga batas at gawing mas mabigat ang mga parusa sa mga ganitong pangyayari (As chair of the Senate Committee on Sports, it is in our interest to prevent a repeat of this incident. If needed, we will call for an investigation to check if there is really a need to amend our laws and make the penalties for this kind of incident much stricter),” the senator stressed. 

Go also said there is a glaring violation on the rights of a child. 

“Bagama't noong Pebrero pa nangyari ito, nagpapasalamat naman tayo sa kapulisan sa pagsampa ng kaso ng paglabag sa (Even though this happened in February, we are thankful for the police for filing a case of violation of) Republic Act No. 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act,” he said.

“Inaasahan din natin ang paaralan na tutukan ang isyung ito at ibigay ang lahat ng maaaring itulong upang makamit ng biktima ang hustisya (We also expect the school involved to take action on this issue and provide the necessary assistance for the victim to achieve justice),” the lawmaker added.

Go said he hopes the incident would not discourage any of the country’s youth to engage in sports in the future. 

“Napakahalaga ng sports sa nation building at sa paghubog ng mga kabataan sa tamang asal at disiplina.  Itinuturo nito ang camaraderie at sportsmanship (Sports is very important in nation building and in teaching our youth with the right proper manners and discipline. It also teaches camaraderie and sportsmanship),” Go stressed. 

“Huwag nating hayaan ang ganitong mga insidente na makasira sa ating mga ginagawa upang maka-engganyo ng mga kabataan to get into sports and stay away from drugs, to get fit and healthy (Let’s not allow this kind of incident destroy our efforts to encourage our youth to get into sports and stay away from drugs to get fit and healthy),” he also stressed.