FILIPINO athletes made their mark on the global stage in the last quarter of the year about to end—a breakthrough Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Jose Emmanuel “Noli” Eala described as running in consonance President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s vision for Philippine sports.
President Marcos hailed Filipino athletes as the country’s “new heroes” and Eala said that they did just that in the last three months of 2022.
“Our athletes further sustained their momentum under a newly-chartered plan for Philippine sports,” Eala said. “Fresh achievements both in elite and grassroots sports were achieved in that period.”
Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz Naranjo topped all performers with her world championships gold medal in Bogota, Colombia, in November, winning what used to be the only elusive title in his illustrious and inspiring weightlifting career.
Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Carlo Paalam also won gold medal at the Asian Basketball Confederation Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan, while Olympic gymnast Caloy Yulo claimed a silver and a bronze at the 51st artistic gymnastics world championships in Liverpool.
Meggie Ochoa and Kimberly Anne Custodio joined the elite roster by winning gold at jiu-jitsu’s world championships.
Eala’s stint as chairman began with a well-attended PSC-National Sports Associations (NSA) Consultative Meeting where he met with officials from 68 of 74 NSAs at the Philippine International Convention Center last October 13.
Eala, the 11th chairman of the PSC, asserted the need for mutual respect between the agency and the NSAs, as well as “responsible autonomy rooted in transparent management of government funds.”
Besides laying out the agency’s plans and programs, Eala also established the framework of his administration’s national sports agenda.
“We will establish a pathway to success beginning with the “Duyan ng Magiting” or the “Cradle of the Brave” at the grassroots level leading to the tweaked version of the Gintong Alay which we will call Project: Gintong Laban which is to be implemented at the elite level,” he said.
An improved relationship with the Philippine Olympic Committee was also tops in Eala’s priority at the PSC.
Apart from strengthening ties with the NSAs, Eala and Commissioner Olivia “Bong” Coo also ensured the PSC’s continued support to elite athletes even with a full board yet to be completed.
“President Marcos’s concern for Filipino athletes continues to be the driving force behind the PSC caring for Philippine sports like no other,” Eala said. “Some of these elite athletes were fully cultivated in the grassroots programs of the sports agency such as the Batang Pinoy and the Philippine National Games.”
Before the year ends, the PSC successfully conducted the return of the Batang Pinoy National Championships in Ilocos Sur from December 17 to 21. More than 6,000 delegates from 140 provinces, cities and municipalities competed in the Batang Pinoy.