In August of 2001, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports was renamed the Department of Education by virtue of Republic Act No. 9155, or the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001. Section 9 of the law abolished the Bureau of Physical Education and School Sports (BPESS). The education department had gone through many re-christenings since it was first established as the Department of Public Instruction in 1901. In 1982, the agency became the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, then the Department of Education, Culture and Sports five years later. It has since lost the mandate for youth sports development. Fourteen years after RA 9155, BUHAY party-list representative Lito Atienza filed House Bill 5878, hoping to reverse the previous law. Atienza then noted Filipino youth’s estrangement from their own culture, and a palpable dip in children’s involvement in grassroots sports development programs.
Sports for the youth has been partially left in limbo. True, the Philippine Sports Commission has always had a strong thrust towards development, its other mandate beyond elite athlete training. Still, without formal access to the massive network of schools under DepEd, its efforts were blunted. Millions of school children, in turn, would have no access to formal technical knowledge of a wide variety of sports. Moreover, many would not even have any exposure to sports at all, as there is still an abundance of principals and school administrators who carry the antiquated belief that physical education is – at best – a luxury, or, at worst, a waste of time and money. Some have closed their minds to all the research that shows that children in sports lead healthier, more balanced lives, and are generally better students.
Luckily, all of that has changed in the last eight years or so. If you recall, the 2012 Palarong Pambansa in Pangasinan started the trend of setting new standards for hosting the annual students’ sports showcase. As a whole, each Palaro has gone from strength to strength, reaching new levels of excellence, as proven by glowing reviews from the working press who cover the competitions.
More recently, the DepEd, under lawyer and Palarong Pambansa secretary-general, Undersecretary Tonisito Umali, has forged a strong partnership with the PSC under Chairman Butch Ramirez. Both men have been educators for much of their careers, and know the value of knowledge used to change lives for the better. One of Ramirez’s initiatives, Sports for Peace, has been recognized internationally for bridging the cultural and social gap between Christians, Muslims and indigenous peoples of Mindanao. Umali, for his part, is a proper, erudite bridge-builder of an executive. Both are family men who have much in common. Significantly, both were appointed by previous presidents, and were retained by succeeding administrations. That speaks volumes about their professionalism and dedication.
One of Umali’s groundbreaking initiatives is the “Writeshop on the Development of Coaching and Officiating Standards”, the compilation of a compendium on each and every sport, held from June 19 to 22 in Olongapo. Each individual compendium is a detailed, exhaustive manual for how to develop, teach and conduct a sport at international standards, inclusive of definitions of even the most basic terms. Each compendium is a serious, scholarly piece of work, designed to be idiot-proof. There is a manual for teaching, coaching, accreditation and competition for each level for each sport. It is a huge undertaking.
The National Sports Associations for aerogymnastics, archery, arnis, athletics, basketball, badminton, baseball, billiards, boxing, chess, dancesport, football, futsal, gymnastics, pencak silat, sepak takraw, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, wrestling, volleyball and wushu are among those that have lent their formidable technical expertise to lay down this impressive foundation for a massive collaborative effort with DepEd, in an indispensable partnership with the PSC. Each sport mentioned worked directly with DepEd in a series of consultative meetings. Each sport now has a credible compilation of training modules and lecture materials which children all over the country will learn from. The benefits of this pooled knowledge is far-reaching. If used properly, its usage could outlive us all.
Interestingly, Ramirez and Umali’s teams have also jointly crafted a roadmap for creating champions. They have also begun preparations for regional grassroots sports training camps, and have laid down the groundwork for regional and national sports summits, to be launched soon. As the PSC has done, the DepEd will also research the best practices of other countries when it comes to sports. Both men are determined to make a big change in how sports has been done in the past in a learned, inclusive, consultative manner. The youth of the country are starting to feel the impact.
For his part, Umali is also chipping away at a status quo that has been static and glacial in embracing change. It is an often lonely battle, but the fruits are worth it. Seeing the transformation of our children to well-rounded, confident, competent individuals who discover their capabilities and grow in the safe environment of sports is priceless.