No events for rest of year, says POC chief

Except for the continuous training of Olympic-bound athletes, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol’’ Tolentino doesn’t see any major sporting activity in the country for the remainder of the year.

“I doubt if we can still hold [sports] events for this year,’’ Tolentino said.

So far, regular annual tournaments that are national in scope such as the Palarong Pambansa, Philippine National Games and Batang Pinoy Games, among others, have been shelved indefinitely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“There will be a new normal once this is over and we’ll see how our sports activities will fit in,’’ added the Cavite congressman and PhilCycling head.The House of Representatives has already drafted an act establishing policies and regulations for the workplace and public area norms, along with corresponding penalties.

The only thing that will consistently proceed, Tolentino said, is the training of athletes who already qualified

for the rescheduled Tokyo Olympic Games from July 23 to Aug. 8, 2021, and athletes seeking Olympic spots to join them. INQ