Alcantara group to launch Hidilyn Diaz scholarship program

Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz was practically mobbed when she paid a courtesy call on the Makati headquarters of the Alsons Power Group yesterday.  Accompanied by national weightlifting team compatriot Nestor Colonia, coach Alfonsito Aldanete with Zamboanga City councilman and Philippine Weightlifting Association vice president Bong Atilano, the 25-year-old Zamboangueña thanked the Mindanao-based independent power producer for being the team’s earliest supporter, long before all the accolades and praises she received for winning silver in the women’s 53-kg weightlifting category in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil. As noted by Atilano, Alsons was “the only company that directly supported the weightlifting team.”

The support, Diaz averred, gave her and the team the much-needed morale boost and psychological motivation during the competition. Her feat ended the country’s 20-year Olympic medal drought and marked several “firsts” in our sports history: The first Filipina and Mindanaoan to win an Olympic medal, and the first to bring home a silver outside of boxing. If people can remember, the country had its first Olympic silver thanks to boxer Anthony Villanueva in 1964, while the second one was courtesy of boxer Mansueto Velasco in 1996.

During the courtesy call, Alsons Power also announced the launch of the Alsons Power Hidilyn Diaz Scholarship program for deserving students from Zamboanga City training to become competitive weightlifters. According to Alsons Power CEO Tirso Santillan (shown in photo congratulating Hidilyn Diaz), the scholarship program is proof of the company’s commitment to help uplift the condition of the communities where the power company is present. Education after all is at the centerpiece of the Alcantara Group’s corporate social responsibility programs, believing education to be the great equalizer that could go a long way in alleviating poverty, not to mention power up efforts in community development. Unknown to many, the power company has been providing scholarships to the top 10 honor students at schools located in the areas where the company operates, among them Zamboanga City where Alsons subsidiaries Western Mindanao Power Corp. and San Ramon Power Inc. are located.

While the details of the scholarship (which will include a stipend to cover uniforms and school supplies) have yet to be outlined, target beneficiaries will be the children who are part of Hidilyn’s weightlifting program which she started in 2012 in her hometown of Mampang. Interestingly, most if not all members of the national weightlifting team hail from Zamboanga City – kids like Hidilyn who dream about rising from poverty.

According to the Philippine Sports Commission, they are now on the lookout for “future Hidilyns.” However, observers also note that until and unless problems like “politicking and corruption in sports agencies,” as Senator Manny Pacquiao said during his privilege speech are fixed, the country will continue to miss out on opportunities to maximize the potential of Filipino athletes and turn them into Olympic champions.

Aside from insufficient training equipment and poor facilities, athletes do not get proper nutrition and other conditioning programs that could spell the difference between victory and defeat. Coaches also need to get updated on the latest techniques and trends in their respective sports. It’s about time we seriously take a look at our national sports programs and scrutinize if national sports associations use the funds from government for training athletes instead of spending them for junkets.

Phl image worries investors

The spate of negative publicity coming out in international media regarding the government’s war on drugs is getting foreign investors worried. Questions are already being raised about the drug-related killings, with the number of casualties from vigilante-style killings alone having reached almost 700 since July. PNP chief General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa also echoed reports that have reached us that many of the killings are being perpetrated by drug syndicates either trying to eliminate rivals or “cleaning up the ranks” or “tying up loose ends” — meaning they are getting rid of those who could implicate them in the illegal drugs trade.

No question that in the local front, people know that the war against drugs is one that requires sustained and massive efforts to significantly eliminate, since its tentacles have reached up to the many levels of society —  rich, poor, showbiz, politics, the police, the military and even those in robes according to the president’s list.

Many years ago, the image of Colombia and Mexico suffered because of the drug wars but they have since been able to turn it around. Perhaps the Palace Communications team and the PNP can draw up a “campaign plan” to manage our image abroad — before the negative news goes out of hand or is taken “out of context.”

Spy tidbit

Rats and roaches are coming out of New York because of the recent heat wave with temperatures rising up to 110ºF, and experts are predicting even more extreme weather disorders. July in fact is recorded as the hottest month ever, with temperatures hitting as high as 140ºF in Iran and the UAE.

As usual, Filipino jokes are going around that in the Philippines, we don’t need a heat wave because rain or shine, “human rats” are always around.

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