Tapping homegrown bets key to grassroots program

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Sports Commission chairman Harry Angping said developing Philippine-based athletes is actually the nationalistic way of promoting sports throughout the country instead of relying on the Fil-foreign bets.

He said the NSAs (national sports associations) are keeping these Fil-foreign athletes in their respective associations because they provide the backbone of their competitiveness in international competitions. In so doing, they neglect their duty to promote the sport in the grassroots hence they do not come up with younger and better talents that they can harness for the future.

“What I am doing is to encourage our officials to look at the vast talent available within the country, develop them into world-class athletes, and let them carry the honors of representing the country in foreign competitions,” said Angping.

“Let us stop the colonial mentality thing that only the Fil-foreign athletes have the capability to represent the country. Instead, we should train and develop homegrown talents,” said the PSC chief.

He also said the money that the government is spending for these Fil-foreign athletes are pegged in US dollars which, if spent here instead, will benefit more promising Philippine-based true-blooded Filipino athletes.

“This is what you call Nationalism. We patronize our own, living amongst us and not those who call themselves Filipinos but live and train abroad,” said Angping.

Meanwhile, the three-man aquatics task force recently formed by the PSC will start looking for potential talents in Mindanao who could be trained and developed to become members of the national pool.

“Our task is recruitment, selection, training and development of potential talents in an equal environ,” said Ramon Ricardo Roque, who chairs the group that includes Susan Papa and Luz Arzaga-Mendoza, both former Asian Gamers.

Roque is also a former Asian age-group campaigner who is now deputy secretary-general in the House of Representatives.

“During our time, Muslim swimmers are the ones lording it over the pool because they are really naturally strong swimmers,” said Papa, a teammate of former two-time Olympic veteran Jairulla Jaitulla when the latter copped a pair of silver medals and a bronze in the 1970 Bangkok Asiad.

“Now that’s our job to find gems in the rough,” said Arzaga-Mendoza, an Asian Games bronze medalist.

The task force, however, stressed it is not competing with the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association in discovering talents but is a partner to fulfill the PSC’s grassroots development program.

“The heart of the PSC program is to give priority to the homegrown and not to exclude anyone,” said Arzaga-Mendoza.

Jaitullah, who competed in the 1972 Munich and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, was one of the swimmers from Mindanao who shone abroad.

Angping, for his part, said he intends to give financial support not just to swimmers training in the United States but also to local talents who have the potential to excel.

“What I am doing is to encourage our sporting officials to look at the vast talent available within the country, develop them into world-class athletes, and let them carry the honors of representing the country in foreign competitions,” said Angping.         – With report from Joey Villar