Bacolod students set to break world record for largest aerobic exercise class

Advocating a healthy lifestyle for Filipino children, a non-government organization in Bacolod aims to set a record with at least 80,000 students dancing at the same time.

 

An initiative of Ang Batang Pinoy Movement (ABP), the event called Jam Step is set to break the Guinness World Record for the Largest Dance Group. With 13,000 participants, China is the current record holder.

 

Scheduled for February 12, 2012, Jam Step aims to be the largest aerobic exercise class. At the same time, it provides an opportunity for the youth to take part in community building. Proceeds of the event will fund the construction of the Bacolod Disaster Preparedness Center and the production of Disaster Kits and Survival Manuals to be distributed in the city.

 

"The need for disaster preparedness is even more imperative in the wake of recent disasters hitting the country such as the killer floods caused by Typhoon Sendong. This is even more relevant for the region in light of the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that shook the islands of Cebu and Negros only this Monday," said ABP Chairperson Jewel May Lobaton-Pimentel in a press release.

 

Bacolod Rep. Tony Golez, senior vice chairperson of the Committee on Health at the House of Representatives, said the entire country, not just the youth, stand to benefit from the activity.

 

"Children are always the most vulnerable to diseases and disasters. We hope to educate and imbibe in them the importance of health and safety," he said in the press release.

 

Students from around 60 public schools in Bacolod will join the event. 

 

ABP explained that the main objective of Jam Step is to encourage children to be active and healthy, beginning with 15 minutes a day of simple aerobic dance steps set to a modern, upbeat tune.

 

 

For now, the Jam Step is an aerobic dance class choreographed by the University of St. La Salle-Bacolod City Pep Squad. The dance is set to Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass." 

 

"Not because of the lyrics—because I know the lyrics are questionable—but it's the rhythm. It's in. The music is timely for this particular time," Pimentel told GMA News Online, adding that they plan to change the music for the next Jam Step, which will be held in July. She said that ABP is considering Daisy Reyes' "Sayawan."

 

Pimentel said that since last November, many schools have been doing the exercise as a daily activity in schools.

 

"Every day after flag ceremony, the children dance for 15 minutes because it's fun," she said.

 

But the Visayan Daily Star reported some parents, teachers and community association presidents and teachers are complaining that students and pupils are required to perform the "Jam Step." A resolution inquiring who and what office sanctioned the "Jam Step" was approved by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod on January 25, claiming that the activity "will only waste the already exhausted number of hours of students and pupils that are supposed to be dedicated inside the classrooms."

 

Citing Section 99(c) of the Local Government Code, the resolution said school activities that are incorporated in the school curricula should be sanctioned by the Local School Board, the report said.

 

Pimentel said that Department of Education Superintendent Gemma Ledesma approved and endorsed the project. She said that while they were not required to implement it, the school principals were enthusiastic. 

 

"Nobody takes the cause of the children this seriously, because nakikita nila hindi naman nakakaboto ang mga bata and all that. It's not about politics, it's about you making a difference in the life of the children," Pimentel said.

Healthy children  

Pimentel, the 1998 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe titleholder, said she wanted to form a network of people working together to make children healthy, witty, intelligent and empowered.

 

"I believe in what our children can do. Gusto ko lang sabihin na one day, maybe in July, when millions of children dance influencing other people, we can tell the world that hey, the Filipino children are the ones initiating a healthy lifestyle," said Pimentel.

 

Following Jam Step, Jam Step 2 will be held in July as a national health event under the DOH nationwide program. This time around, the Department of Health, the Department of Tourism and the DepEd will also promote the event. President Benigno Aquino III is expected to lead the initial dance activity.

 

"I'm very excited about it because ito ‘yung program nila na they're campaigning about: the incidence of non-communicable diseases—obesity, asthma, lung diseases—lifestyle diseases," said Pimentel, citing government data that shows 7 out of 10 Filipinos die due to these diseases.

 

ABP plans to promote the campaign until it is adopted all over the Philippines.

 

"I will not stop there. I will go to different schools and districts to campaign about this. All over the country na sana, every day our children will have an exercise, and it will be part of their routine in the school," she said, noting that other countries like Singapore and the United States are also implementing healthy lifestyle campaigns.

 

"When you start exercising, you become a happier person. With that alone, the 15 minutes that you're happy, you're giving yourself a gift," said Pimentel. –KG, GMA News