UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

The Philippines erupted in joyous celebration after Carlos Edriel Yulo clinched two Olympic Gold Medals in gymnastics in Paris. The government and private companies showered him with cash, houses and lots, condominium and all sorts of lifetime privileges. Business and product endorsements will surely come his way. There’s nothing like winning to spark national pride.

While this was going on, Carlos, bless his heart, was already thinking of giving back to the country by offering to train aspiring gymnasts. Perhaps, it is the right time to really think about an overhaul of our national sports programs.

Other countries like Russia and China, as well as Japan, start their searches for Olympic athletes at the grassroots level, seeking out promising youngsters at really young ages — four, five or six years old. Then, they gather these recruits into elite sports academies and hone them into finely tuned world-class athletes who routinely haul in gold medals in international competitions.

Locally, we seem to just rely on serendipitous discoveries like Carlos Yulo, who was  fortunately sponsored by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carreon at age 10. Not many get the same opportunities that he did. EJ Obiena gets funding from the government, but the PATAFA even tried to charge him with malversation. Hidilyn Diaz made do with what little funding came her way and had to rely on private sponsors to cover the shortcomings. Other athletes  have migrated to other countries that gave more support, like chess genius Wesley So, champion golfer Yuka Saso, volleyball star Jaja Santiago and billiards legend Alex Pagulayan. 

In a nation of  110 million with a young demographic profile, we should have a very large pool of talents to choose from, if we care to look for them. Yet, sports gets very little funding from government. The Philippine Sports Commission budget for 2025 was even trimmed down by ₱431 million from the previous year’s ₱1.156 billion  to only ₱725 million. Sadder still, only a measly ₱158.2 million is allocated for Amateur Sports Development programs while ₱255 million  goes to locally funded projects.

Carlos Yulo’s achievement should get the legislators to rethink their budget allocations for sports, instead of just showering the occasional athletes who manage to perform well and bring honor to the country with “incentives.” There definitely won’t be much development of world-class athletes with the paltry sum that is being proposed.

We need an overhaul of current athletics programs, which just seem to be perfunctory and mostly for show. One senator is proposing to increase the budget for sports. But more than that, a well-thought-out sports program to scout for promising youngsters in different sports, patterned after successful ones in other countries, is in order.

Looking at the longer term, if we’re to  maximize the benefits of sports development, we should  expand the pool of talents by ensuring we bring up our children to maximize their potentials. 

The problem is, malnutrition in the Philippines is still rampant, with one in every three children suffering from stunting (pagkabansot). Not only are children physically stunted, they also suffer from deficient brain development, which has led to our students being bottom dwellers in science and mathematics in the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

It means a drastic 30 percent reduction in the pool of athletic talents. The premature deaths of 95 Filipino children  every day due to malnutrition are additional losses of potential sports talent. That’s  aside from the dire economic implications for the survivors.

Besides the insignificant amount for sports development, our government spent ₱17.864 billion on supplementary feeding for the years 2017-2019 but so far, has nothing to show for reduction of the stunting rate.

If we are to make progress in reducing  malnutrition , we must be willing to invest in more widespread nutrition interventions.

An honest-to-goodness sports development program, backed up by a well-nourished youth population for a bigger pool of talents, will require a far bigger budget than what is currently being spent. But the country stands to benefit much more in terms of youth development, a healthier citizenry and probably a reduction in juvenile delinquency, as well as reaping international acclaim and installing the Philippines as a sports powerhouse.

To our esteemed congressmen and senators, here is something that needs your urgent attention. If you want more gold-medal- winning athletes the likes of Carlos Yulo, Hidilyn Diaz and EJ Obiena to bring more honor and glory to the Philippines, please give a thought to more funding for nutrition and sports programs and caring for our aspiring athletes throughout their careers, rather than pouring money into bottomless pits that don’t produce anything.