By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE CORONAVIRUS disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected how Philippine sports affairs are to be conducted, not only for now, but also moving forward.

Speaking in an interview with PTV Sports on Monday, Philippine Sports Commission chairman William Ramirez said the COVID-19 episode has considerably impacted the local sporting scene and community and that an appropriate response in tune with the conditions of the time is needed.

“The whole sporting world, national sports has to change. It has to shape its direction moving forward,” said Mr. Ramirez, whose agency in the past two months have made some tough decisions, including cancelling all events under its watch for the remainder of the year because of the threat of the highly contagious respiratory disease.

“We have to be very, very careful [transitioning] from ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine) come May 16 to GCQ (General Community Quarantine). There has to be adjustments. We cannot be complacent and just return to what we were doing before because one person or athlete contracting the disease can affect a lot of things,” he added.

Mr. Ramirez said with such a situation facing local sports, leaders have to take cue from the situation at hand and find ways to come up with the right environment for sports here to continue to function.

He went on to say that the PSC is in the process of recommending to the government, through the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), a set of protocols to guide stakeholders on how to go about their affairs during and after COVID-19.

“So we will be recommending to the IATF some protocols. We have to adhere to these,” Mr. Ramirez said.

Among the things they are looking at is setting up regional sport centers where coaches can go there and conduct training so that athletes do not need to go to the PSC facilities in Metro Manila right away.

This is apart from setting up a program where coaches can dispense their duties online by way of teleconference and other platforms. Mr. Ramirez said this is being done in collaboration with the different national sports associations and the Philippine Olympic Committee.

Testing for COVID-19 is also a must for athletes before they start practicing, as well as for other personnel, he said.

Still another concerns equipment, which the PSC chairman said have to be taken care of very carefully — disinfected regularly because of the very contagious nature of COVID-19.

“The sports world and industry will really change and sports leaders really have to look into that,” Mr. Ramirez said.

As to the return of sport activities, Mr. Ramirez said it is still wait-and-see but their return will be gradual, beginning with individual sports and outdoor activities.

“Under the GCQ, team sports are still not allowed to take place so we are recommending individual sports first like athletics, lawn tennis singles, table tennis singles, hiking and others which require a distance five to six feet,” he said.

Mr. Ramirez, however, said their decision on the resumption of sports activities depends on the recommendation of the IATF. If the latter orders a no-go even for individual sports, the PSC would follow.

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