WITH no less than President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. vowing full support, backed by top sports officials of the country, the 840-man Philippine delegation is exuding confidence as it prepares to do battle 10 days from now in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The enthusiasm felt by the Philippine athletes was overwhelming.
In his message, Mr. Marcos Jr. wished the Philippine contingent good luck during the send-off ceremony held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City last Monday, April 24.
“One of the greatest pleasures I have found, being the leader, is to be able to give honor and to recognize, hopefully to inspire, and to provide support to our athletes, who are in fact our ambassadors in sport and play a very, very important part beyond just their participation in such important sporting events,” the President said in his speech.
“If there is anything more that this government can do, that this administration can do, that I personally can do, please make sure to tell me because we are all rooting for you. And we all want to do everything that we can do to make you as successful as you possibly can in your chosen events,” added Mr. Marcos.
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Richard Bachmann expressed gratitude to President Marcos for the overwhelming support for Filipino athletes, “It’s always good that the President and the country support our athletes. That’s a good morale booster and hopefully we all do well compared to last year. We’re all praying for that,” said Mr. Bachmann who is on his first major international games as PSC chief.
“The PSC is behind all our national athletes. All the commissioners and myself will be there to watch all the games,” assured Mr. Bachmann.
Team Philippines will be vying in 38 sports from May 5 to 17.
