Romero: Vaccines a must for Philippine athletes

MANILA, Philippines — If the law is passed, national athletes will be classified as frontliners and among the first to avail of COVID-19 vaccines.

Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero yesterday filed House Resolution 1507 that will put Filipino athletes preparing for the Tokyo Olympics in July and the Hanoi SEA Games in November in the level of health workers, senior citizens, the police and military, who will be prioritized when the vaccines arrive in March or April.

“The vaccine is a must for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics so I’m espousing a House resolution prioritizing the Philippine athletes, especially those competing in the Southeast Asian Games and Olympics as among those to be given vaccinations,” said Romero in yesterday’s online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

“This is a game-changer for athletes,” he said.

Romero, a 2019 Southeast Asian Games polo bronze medalist and NorthPort team owner in the PBA, believed it is important to prioritize the national team members especially the Tokyo-bound and Olympic hopefuls since it is in this staging where the country has the best chance of winning the elusive gold in the Summer Games.

Romero said among those with strong chances of striking gold in Tokyo are 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz, gymnast Caloy Yulo and boxer Eumir Felix Marcial.

“This is a chance of a lifetime for our athletes and the country to win an Olympic gold. And what we can do is to mitigate it by giving them vaccines,” said Romero.

Romero is also refiling a resolution seeking the formation of a Department of Sports.