All the gold medals the country got in the ongoing Asian Games were won by the ladies. This despite the tilted sports programs of the country favoring their male counterparts. For the macho mentality is generally pervasive among Pinoys. The females are looked down on in the allocation of resources for sports. Also in giving out of opportunities. If the budget is quite tight to send everybody abroad for an international competition, it was the ladies who had to give way.
So our priorities should be turned upside down. Prioritize the ladies. They are much better as our said recent gold medal take has shown.
Another sad fact. The gold medalists were either not properly trained in modern facilities or that they were trained abroad. Our skate boarding gold medalist whose parents are just sidewalk vendors and there was no training facility for skate boarding in Cebu where she hails did not have any professional training. She had to do it with friends in public places such as the side walk. Her first wish after winning the highest spot in Jakarta was for the local authorities not to accost them when skateboarding on sidewalks. Then when she got the gold, the governor of Cebu announced that they will put up a modern skateboarding facility.
While Hidilyn Diaz might have used the Philippine Air Force’s gyms for weightlifting, our educated guess is that these are typical government facilities. That is, they are mediocre at best, or of third world standard.
As to the lady golfers, they were trained abroad, in the US. Not at government expense. They are Fil-Ams who were gracious enough to come and compete for the country.
A Philippine sports program? It’s a joke. We are only pre-occupied with basketball which, over the decades, has shown that we don’t have a chance in that sport. A scientific study should be conducted on the sports events where we have a good chance of winning golds then ample resources should be disbursed for facilities and training programs for these.
Then, it should also be decided if the ladies should be prioritized instead of the macho gentlemen.**