FROM November 29 to December 7, the Philippines, through the Department of Education (DepEd) and the city government of Marikina, shall host the sixth Association of South east Asian Nations (Asean) Schools Games. The ASG is an annual event participated in by Asean member-countries, where students aged 18 and below compete in 11 sports “to promote solidarity and foster cultural exchange among the youth” of member-countries of the Asean region.
In November 2013 the Philippines also hosted the successful fifth ASG Golf Tournament event in Batangas. (The fifth ASG was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, last year.) The sports to be played in this event are athletics, swimming, badminton, golf, tennis, sepak takraw, gymnastics, table tennis, basketball, volleyball and wushu.
Marikina City Mayor Del R. de Guzman thanked the DepEd for this opportunity to host an international event as this will again put Marikina City on the tourism map of the country. Education Undersecretary for Regional Operations Rizalino Rivera, who is the chairman of the sixth ASG Governing Board, said the country is privileged to accommodate all the ASG delegates coming from the Asean region. The ASG Governing Board, created via a DepEd order, is tasked to provide policy direction in the planning, organization and implementation of the ASG. Education Secretary Bro. Armin A. Luistro, FSC, said this event is “not only important for Marikina, but most especially for the Philippines, because, here, we can showcase the country’s talents in the area of sports and show that we are ready for the world.”
When asked by the media as to how we expect to fare in this event, I said that we hope to do better this year as we intend to field a complete delegation in all sports. However, I emphasized that medal count is not the primordial consideration of the participating countries in this event, as this is a schools-sports event (and not participated in by elite athletes but by students). As such, we should be looking more on the values inherent in sports that our children will learn and the concepts of teamwork and cooperation with the other athletes. Again, the aim of the ASG event is “to promote solidarity and foster cultural exchange among the youth of member-countries of the Asean region.”
As Luistro aptly put it: Competitive sports are informal learning experiences for the youth; they hone the values of precision, discipline and fairness. So, while students are showcasing their talents in sports, the ASG also presents an opportunity to gather the youth for the purpose of personal development and life-skills enrichment through collective wisdom and experiences.”
Lawyer Toni Umali is the current assistant secretary for legal and legislative affairs of the DepEd. He is licensed to practice law not only in the Philippines, but also in the State of California and some Federal Courts in the US after passing the California State Bar Examinations in 2004. He is also a member of the National Board of theNuceso, an organization of Ceso comprising the third level, or the managerial class, in the group of career positions in the Philippine civil service. He has served as a legal consultant to several legislators and local chief executives. he was instrumental in the passage of the K to 12 and the issuance of its implementing rules and regulations. He is also the alternate spokesman of the DepEd.