Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
Senator Sonny Angara on Monday pressed for the modernization of government sports facilities in the country in the wake of the recent death of a 12-year-old wushu athlete inside a sport dormitory.
Angara noted it now becomes imperative to upgrade government sports amenities to ensure Filipino national athletes’ safety and health.
Last Saturday, Rastafari Daraliay died after falling from his bunk bed inside the wushu team quarters at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
READ: Wushu pool athlete, 12, falls off bed, dies
Angara, vice chairman of the Senate sports committee, said Daraliay’s death is a “grim reminder for the need to update government sports facilities–all of which in poor condition.”
“While the Philippine Sports Commission has laid out their plans to rehabilitate our existing facilities in Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and Philsports Complex, urgent attention to this matter should be prioritized,” the senator said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Angara disclosed that the Senate is poised to approve on third and final reading a bill authorizing the construction of the state-of-the-art Philippine Amateur Sports Training Center (PASTC) at the New Clark City in Tarlac province.
“As we anticipate the approval of the bill which will create a new state-of-the-art sports complex for our national athletes, government should ensure that all facilities to be built will comply with our set safety standards,” he said.
“We cannot expect our national athletes to perform at their best if they do not feel safe and comfortable in their own training grounds,” he added. Christia Marie Ramos, INQUIRER.net /kga