GAMES and Amusements Board (GAB) Chairman Abraham “Baham” Mitra said the agency would be relentless in seeking government support for professional combat sports athletes whose means of livelihood was shuttered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mitra appealed to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Department of Labor and Employment as early as last April to include licensed boxers, other contact sports fighters and trainers for them to receive cash assistance from the national government.
“Some athletes were able to receive the first tranche of financial aid which ranged from P5,000 to P8,000 from the subsidy program of the DSWD,” Mitra told the online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday.
“Senator [Christopher] Bong Go also went to the rescue and chipped in P5,000 each for the boxers in the National Capital Region and nearby areas,” he added.
But because professional fights remain banned during the pandemic, Mitra said the fighters are trying fighting a different battle to survive.
“The situation is very difficult,” Mitra told the forum presented by San Miguel Corp., Go For Gold, Milo, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and powered by Smart with Upstream Media as the official webcast partner.
“We already reached out to the DSWD and DOLE for their assistance, but because some of our fighters did not receive the first tranche of financial assistance, chances for them being included in the second wave of the subsidy might not materialize,” he said.
Professional boxing, like basketball and football, had to take a sidestep anew after Metro Manila and nearby provinces went under modified enhanced community quarantine anew for 14 days starting on Tuesday.
Mitra said the GAB would continue coordinating with the DSWD on the plight of the professional fighters whose jobs fall under the “no play, no pay” scheme.
The GAB chairman also stressed in the forum that violators of health and safety protocols among the ranks of professional athletes would be penalized as specified in the Joint Administrative Order (JAO) the agency formulated with the Philippine Sports Commission and Department of Health.
“The JAO gives us the authority to sanction professional athletes who breach protocols in their respective leagues—and we will be strict on that,” said Mitra, referring to the Philippine Basketball Association and the Philippine Football League.
“We can readily revoke their licenses if they break the rules,” he said.