PADS pays tribute to number one fan and supporter

CEBU, Philippines — A pall of gloom descended upon the Philippine Accessible Disability Services Inc. (PADS) Adaptive Dragon Boat Racing Team early yesterday morning with the passing away of their number one fan and supporter, Valeriano “Bobit” Segura Avila.

An icon in Cebu media and a well-loved television host for decades, Avila was also a longtime columnist of The Freeman and The Philippine STAR. He was 71.

“Early this morning (yesterday), we suspended our training and offered a moment of silence after hearing the news of the passing of one of the pillars of PADS Adaptive Dragon Boat Racing Team, Sir Valeriano S. Avila,” wrote PADS founder John Paul “JP” Ecarma Maunes in an emotional Facebook post.

“A very sad day for PADS. We lost a true believer and also a father to the team,” added the Cebuano disability rights advocate. who founded PADS in 2005 to enable the People With Disability (PWDs) community to grow and develop as independent, integrated, fully human and empowered citizens in the society.

Maunes credited Avila as the chief driving force behind their success in back-to-back international championships in Hong Kong and at the 2019 IDBF World Championships in Thailand.

“We struggled financially and incurred many debts during our first international stint back in 2017. When he heard about it, he personally said it to us that “we will never struggle again in all of our international competitions”. He assured us to back us up at the 2018 championships and our journey to the world championships. He was our number 1 supporter and fan. He believed in the team that we can make it to the world championships,” Maunes shared.

“He was the one who used his connections and networks so that we can compete at the World Dragon Boat Championships. He was the man behind our partnership with our biggest sponsor IMG who supported the team to our back-to-back championships in Hong Kong and the world championships.”

Maunes said Avila was a visionary whose kindness and generosity will forever be engraved their hearts.

“We we relatively unknown back then. It was sir Bobit who truly believed in us and lifted us so we can reach our goals. Without his support, we wouldn’t be here where we are now today. Without him, we could not have produced world champions in dragon boat here in Cebu,” Maunes said.

“Sir Bobit was proud of us like a father and never looked down on the disabilities of our athletes. He inspired us to believe in ourselves that we can make it to the top.”

Now that Avila has left this earthly world, Maunes said the least they could do is to keep his legacy and immortalize their ardent benefactor for the good things he has done to them.

“He was a true believer of the vision of PADS and was considered a father to many of our athletes. Rest in Peace Sir Bobit. May you continue to guide us in all of our races from above,” Maunes furthered. “Thank you very much for making our dreams come true. You changed our lives forever. You will always have a special place in our hearts.” — EBV