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Education Secretary Jesli Lapus does not agree that
boxing should be banned in the Philippines, saying the
sport has contributed much in giving the country global
recognition.
Boxing,
Lapus stressed, is even included in the annual Palarong
Pambansa, although it will be played only in the
secondary level.
He said
that all world champions, like Manny Pacquiao, are honed
when they are still young.
“How
else do we develop world-class athletes if not from the
youth,” he said.
Nueva
Ecija Rep. Eduardo Joson filed House Bill 3743, which
could prevent Pacquiao from fighting in the country. The
bill bans the conduct of the sport in the Philippines.
Joson
said boxing is a dangerous sport whose basic intent is
to inflict physical injury on the opponent.
Lapus
thought otherwise.
“Boxing
is an Olympic sport and has been, and still is, RP’s
best bet for medals in international competitions,” he
said.
Meanwhile, delegates to the April 20 to 27 Palarong
Pambansa would cherish their stay in the host city of
Puerto Princesa,
according to city public information officer Alroben Goh.
Goh said
the city, led by Mayor Edward Hagedorn, will be
providing the delegates their needs the best way
possible, like international-standard venues, billeting,
food, accommodation and even leisure facilities.
“We,
citizens of Puerto Princesa, from the Mayor down to the
lowest employees of City Hall are trying our best to
give our visitors a kind of stay they can never forget.
We really want to make it as successful as possible,”
Goh said.
About
7,830 athletes, coaches and officials are expected to
arrive in the city one week before the competitions
until up to the actual game days.
The
newly refurbished Puerto Princesa Sports Complex will be
the venue for athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing,
football, gymnastics, softball, swimming, tennis and
volleyball.
The
Olympic-size swimming pool is being refurbished. It has
a 25-meter warm-up pool.
Other
playing venues that are being renovated are the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
field for archery, Western Command minigym for arnis,
the Power Zone badminton courts, Palawan National High
School for baseball and tennis, Palawan State University
for chess and taekwondo, People’s Amphitheater for sepak
takraw and the Puerto Princesa tennis courts.
The
venues will be tested during the Private Schools
Athletic Association Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan
regional meet from April 4 to 10.
Thirty-one events are lined up for the multisport
competition—17 in the high school and 14 in the
elementary division—staged by the Department of
Education.
The
events in the high-school division are archery, arnis,
athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, boxing,
chess, football, gymnastics, sepak takraw, softball,
swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis and
volleyball.
Athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, chess,
football, gymnastics, sepak takraw, softball, swimming,
table tennis, taekwondo, tennis and volleyball are lined
up in the elementary level. |
