The immediate past and present presidents of the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation are one in saying that the sports code or City Ordinance No. 47, Series of 2021, needs amendments to help athletes and coaches further.
SKF President and Councilor John Rey Mananeng, during the Good Governance Alliance presentation at Newtown Plaza, said that the media should play a role in helping spread information on the achievements of athletes.
“We want media to be part of the sports council (the City Sports Promotion and Development Council or CSDPC),” said Mananeng, speaking ahead of Levy Lloyd Orcales, his predecessor and main author of the sports code.
Mananeng said that the media will be a big help in boosting the morale of athletes, which is why the press was invited to the one-day sports summit and coaches development meet last October 11.
Orcales, meanwhile, said that an Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP) be adopted by schools to help athletes earn their degrees.
Many athletes take a long time to graduate from college, such as Eduard Folayang who took 10 years to finish his education degree from the University of the Cordilleras (UC).
Beijing Olympics bronze medalist Mariane Mariano said that she finished her degree at Adamson University where they have a program designed for athletes—the same program taken by world taichi champion Jones Llabres Inso, who was earlier enrolled at Saint Louis University.
Orcales took note of many athletes’ failure to attend school due to training sessions and competitions, the same kind of experience Folayang had which he mentioned to UC and school alumni officials when he was invited to the university’s alumni homecoming last May.
Lawyer Paolo Raynor Salvosa said that UC offers a program meant for student athletes to get their degree although technically not the ETEEAP.
“We offer scholarships to them and a lighter load so they can train and compete,” said the grandson of UC (formerly Baguio Colleges Foundation) founder Benjamin Salvosa. His father Rey Dean is now the school president.
Earlier, City Administrator Bonifacio dela Pena said that the incentives for athletes are rather low. “I guess the athletes need higher incentives,” said de la Pena, referring to the cash awards given by the city to winning athletes in regional, national or international competitions.
Southeast Asian Games medalists receive P30,000, P20,000 and P10,000 for winning gold, silver or bronze medals, respectively, for instance.
Dela Pena made the statement on the eve of the city sports summit. The daylong sports summit was held in the hopes of effecting possible amendments to the sports code passed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This after mayor Benjamin Magalong urged the body, during its June 21 meeting, to conduct the sports summit “as soon as possible” for the city to have a sports program that will be to the benefit of all those involved in sports.