Senate inquiry sought on state of PHL sports after poor Olympic performance

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into the state of sports development in the country following the country's poor performance in the London Summer Olympics and the Southeast Asian Games. Senate Resolution 838 urges the Senate committee on amateur sports competitiveness and other appropriate committees to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation into the current state of sports development in the Philippines.   “We recognize the talent of our Filipino athletes and their display of perseverance, dedication, moral courage, strength of character and competitive spirit in various athletic competitions. It is very evident, however, based on our recent performances in global and regional competitions, that our country is not at par with the Olympic competitors and lags behind our Southeast Asian neighbors as well,” said Trillanes in a separate statement released Thursday. He noted that the lst time the Philippines won a medal in the Olympics was 16 years ago, courtesy of Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco, who won a silver medal in boxing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Trillanes also said in his resolution that the country has been sending representatives to the Olympics since it joined in 1924. But it has only managed to win a total of nine medals: seven bronzes, two silvers, and no gold. In the previous Olympics, only 11 Filipino althletes qualified to compete in eight sports.  None of them won any medals. At last year's South Asian Games in Jakarta, the Philippines only finished in sixth place after garnering 36 gold medals, 56 silver medals, 77 bronze medals. In 2005, the Philippines was the overall champion. Trillanes had previously filed a Senate bill seeking to create the Department of Sports, which he said will formulate policy, plan, coordinate, implement, promote and develop sports and physical fitness in the country.   “It is hoped that once the Department of Sports is established, sports would once again become an integral component of youth development, a galvanizing force for national unity and a source of national pride,” he said. - BM, GMA News