DepEd joins gold medal search, will help draw up roadmap for Palarong Pambansa talents

Education assistant secretary Tonisito Umali on Tuesday said his department has formed an alliance with the Philippine Sports Commission and other government agencies in drawing up a roadmap to the Olympics for the best talents of the Palarong Pambansa.

“We’re synchronizing our efforts,” said Umali during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Golden Phoenix Hotel in Pasay City. “We really need to sit down and form a blueprint if we want to develop a champion in the Olympics.”

Apart from the long-term cooperation of the PSC and the Education department, Umali said the Department of Interior and Local Government, the national sports associations and the local government units should also help out.

“This should become a commitment,” said Umali in the weekly forum backed by Accel, Pagcor and San Miguel Corporation. “This is the legacy that we want to leave behind—a real grassroots development program that is responsive and relevant.”

The Philippines has yet to capture a gold medal in the Olympics. Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, however, bagged a silver in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. It broke a 20-year medal-less streak for the country in the quadrennial global Games.

According to Umali, wrestling, futsal, wushu and billiards will be added to the calendar of the 60th Palarong Pambansa in San Jose, Antique, on April 23 to 29.