FG to raise more funds for SEAG, releases another P1 M for chess

The First Gentleman Foundation will begin knocking on the doors of the private sector in December as it hopes to raise more funds that will be used for the training of the Filipino athletes for next year’s SEA Games.

Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Eric Buhain said he’s confident that First Gentleman Mike Arroyo will be as successful in raising the funds as he did before the 2001 Vietnam SEA Games.

Buhain said the private sector is just waiting for the First Gentleman to announce the holding of another pledging session in Malacañang. In 2001, a similar event netted P24 million in less than two hours.

"The private sector has shown so much enthusiasm in once again helping Philippine sports. They saw the results of the 2001 pledging session that’s why they’re once again eager to help," said Buhain.

The foundation’s "Gintong Medalya: May Laban Tayo" program in 2001 placed close to 90 athletes under its wings, and yielded positive results when almost half of them won gold medals in Vietnam.

This time, as the Philippines prepares to host the biennial event for only the third time since 1981 and 1991, the program has come up with a longer list of 345 athletes with gold medal potential.

The number, however, is still expected to grow as seven more sports were included in next year’s SEA Games for a total of 41. The chosen athletes will undergo serious training as soon as possible.

Chess, in fact, has started its SEA Games preparations and, with the help of the First Gentleman Foundation, has fielded the best to two major events–the World Chess Olympiad in Spain and the World Youth in Greece.

Arroyo ordered the release Thursday of another P1 million to the National Chess Federation of the Philippines for young chess playes competing in the 2004 World Youth Chess Championships set Nov. 3-14 in Greece.

The additional fund donated by Arroyo brings to P2 million the total financial support for the Filipino whiz kids through the "Medalyang Ginto, May Laban Tayo" program under the FG Foundation in cooperation with the PSC’s Alay at Suporta sa Atletang Pilipino project. Buhain said the funds to be raised by the First Gentleman Foundation should provide the athletes everything they need, from the overseas training to equipment.