MANILA, Philippines—Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (Patafa) president Philip Ella Juico will bat for the creation of an Asean Athletics Integration if he gets elected vice president of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA).
AAA secretary general Maurice Nicholas has accepted the candidacy of Juico.
“I will push for the AAA’s support for the creation of the Asean Athletics Integration, with each country assigned a specific role to play, like being the center of excellence for a particular athletics event,” said Juico, a former chair of the Philippine Sports Commission.
He made the proposal last year in Singapore where presidents of Asean athletics associations discussed the region’s collective debacle in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
Juico said he will also strengthen the “Kids in Athletics” program by working closely with the Department of Education.
Juico is preparing for the Philippine National Open-Invitational Athletics Championships in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, slated March 19 to 22.
“We have, according to our advisers, a fair chance of winning although it will entail a lot of hard work,” Juico said. Romina S. Austria