Carlos Yulo 

Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte believes that there's measure that can help produce more Filipino Olympic gold medal winners like gymnast Carlos Yulo and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz. 

If only the Senate can act on it. 

The measure Villafuerte is referring to, House Bill (HB) No.8495, has already been approved on third and final reading in the House of Representatives. 

The bill seeks to grant start-up funds or discount vouchers to young athletes who cannot afford paying the membership fees of local sports or recreation clubs. As counterpart measure in the Senate has yet to be passed. 

“The Philippines boasts its best Olympics performance ever in the just-concluded Paris Games exactly a century after we first participated in this premier sporting event in 1924, and the best way for us to replicate or surpass this feat in future games on the world stage is to spur  thorough state and private-sector support at the grassroots level for our young athletes level who excel in local sports competitions,” Villafuerte said in a statement. 

“Passing the financial support bill in the Senate to complement the proposed PNG program already passed by both legislative chambers that similarly aims to promote grassroots sports development for the benefit of our skilled and dedicated young athletes across the country is in line with President Marcos’ search for reforms to make sure that we produce more medalists in future Olympics and other international sports competitions," he said. 

The PNG refers to the Philippine National Games, embodied in HB No.8468 and the Senate Bill (SB) No.2514. These have already been passed on third and final reading by the House and Senate, respectively. 

“The 19th Congress can help the Marcos administration make this happen by writing a new law institutionalizing a biennial PNG, and another one that extends financial support to needy young athletes as well to accredited sports clubs that run grassroots development programs and/or need to upgrade their sports facilities,” Villafuerte said. 

Yulo bagged two historic golds in Paris; one in the men’s floor exercise and another in the vault competition. 

Villafuerte said that Yulo’s road to glory exemplifies the true potentials of grassroots development as the gymnast is a homegrown athlete who had honed his skills via participating in local contests and competing in the Palarong Pambansa games after he began training in gymnastics while still a  gradeschooler in Manila.

Yulo grew up on Manila’s Leveriza Street, which is close to the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, where he reportedly watched gymnasts practice there.