Zamboanga City Sports Development Officer Dr. Cecilia Atilano, PSC Consultant Prof. Elbert ‘Bong’ Atilano, Sr., PSC Commissioner Edward Hayco, UCV President Esther Susan Perez-Mari, Cagayan Provincial Administrator Atty. Maria Rosario Mamba-Villaflor, and City Councilor Tirso Mangada
PSC continues relaying grassroots agenda
THE Philippine Sports Commission continues its series of visits among cities and provinces nationwide to relay its mandate regarding the grassroots sports program of the country.
This time the PSC went over to Tuguegarao City in Cagayan Province to deal with sports leaders across the region at the University of Cagayan Valley.
PSC Commissioner Edward Hayco conducted a pledge among sports leaders present to be the agency’s arms in delivering the grassroots agenda within the region.
“To all the sports leaders here, being an ordinary person or coach can do extraordinary things. All of you can produce Olympians in the future,” Hayco stated.
The summit is among the multiple visits of the agency in various places in the country which started in Legazpi City where the PSC tapped the Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) as one of its arm for its grassroots program, followed by summits held in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur and Angeles City in Pampanga.
Hayco stressed the importance of forging relationships with PRISAA and other sports-based associations like the State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SCUAA) and the Palarong Pambansa by the Department of Education in building the continued path among young athletes’ development on their way of becoming part of the national pool.
Prior to the Tuguegarao City summit, PSC Chairman Richard Bachmann also delivered the same kind of sentiment in the Angeles City summit, stressing that these organizations helped a lot in carrying out the agency’s mandate and in encouraging young athletes to thrive into their dreams.
University of Cagayan Valley President Esther Susan Perez-Mari agreed to the message relayed by the PSC officials and vowed to be one of the grassroots hubs within the region.
“The grassroots program is, in essence, the development of sports without borders. Ang gagawin po natin ay isasali din natin kahit yung mga nasa public schools. It is our goal for inclusivity,” Perez-Mari stated.
The summit covered topics about national cager June Mar Fajardo, and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz’s humble beginnings at the grassroots level and the overview of the Philippine sports including its legal basis discussed by PSC consultants Bernardino Ricablanca, Jr, and Prof. Elbert ‘Bong’ Atilano. Sr., respectively.
