“DESPITE many uncertainties, the national team can be certain that we are working very hard to make sure they are prepared to defend our title,” said Southeast Asian Games Chef de Mission and Philippine Sports Commission Commissioner Ramon Fernandez as he led Team Philippine’s working group meeting held Friday, April 9.
Top of the agenda was training prospects of the national team as several sports face challenges on venues to hold their own safe training camps. The SEAG CDM informed the group that the PSC board is open to partnering with local government units which would be willing to “adopt” teams to train in their areas. The idea is based on the successful “bubble” training of the fencing and archery teams in Ormoc and Dumaguete respectively.
National Training Director Marc Velasco said this is a good option to take since a training set-up like the one held for the Olympic-bound teams would not be feasible. “We are talking of almost a thousand athletes so putting them in one bubble would not be viable,” Velasco explained.
Before the secretariat could proceed with training preparations though, an approval from the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases must be obtained. Fernandez assured that they have been working on getting this approval but have been delayed with the recent developments in rising cases.
Deputies Chef de Mission Pearl Managuelod and Atty. Al Agra, Philippine Olympic Committee Secretary General Karen Caballero, PSC Doctor Janis Ann de Vera, PSC Executive Director Atty. Guillermo Iroy, Jr., joined Fernandez and Velasco in the said meeting.
