Military bets to train full time under new MOA

MANILA, Philippines - Mainstays of Team Philippines who are in the military can now fully concentrate on their athletic duties following the signing of the memorandum of agreement between the Philippine Sports Commission and the Armed Forces of the Philippines on their detailed services.

The MOA, which was signed by AFP chief Gen. Ricardo Visaya and PSC chairman Butch Ramirez, allows the military-athletes, led by Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz of Air Force, to be with the various national sports associations under a detailed service (DS) order.

A total of 129 athletes are enlisted with the different branches of the Navy, Army and Air Force plus the Philippine Coast Guard.

The DS is good for three months, according to PSC liaison to the military Sgt. Angel Dayag.

“After three months, it’s back to mother unit for them. They can only return to training (with the national team) once they’re issued a new DS order,” said Dayag.

The PSC and the AFP used to sign a MOA covering one year. But Dayag explained that there were some enlisted athletes who neglected to report to their mother units while detailed with the NSAs, thus the decision to reduce it to a three-month period.

The Pinoy athletes will gear up for the next big battle ahead – the Southeast Asian Games, which is slated Aug. 19-31, 2017 in Singapore.