FORMER House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday congratulated two gold medalists at the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games who hail from Taguig City—Rubilen Amit and Johann Chua.
“I congratulate Rubilen Amit and Johann Chua for winning gold medals in billiards 9-ball singles [men and women],” Cayetano said. “Thank you very much for hoisting not only Taguig City, but more importantly our country’s colors in the SEA Games.”
Chua defeated fellow Filipino Carlo Biado in an all-Filipino final, while Amit retained her 9-ball gold medal after defeating Singapore’s Jessica Tan, 7-2..
Cayetano said Chua and Amit’s win, as well as those of other Filipinos who have had podium finishes in Vietnam, show what the country’s athletes are capable of even under less-than-ideal training circumstances.
He encouraged the next administration to provide incentives to athletes even before they win in international competitions, saying this will motivate them to seek exposure on the world stage and put the country on track to becoming a Southeast Asian sporting powerhouse.
“The next administration might consider offering incentives to Filipino athletes even before they win in international competitions,” Cayetano said. “We need to give incentives to our athletes so they want to compete internationally and expose themselves to high levels of competitions.”
Cayetano pointed out that the performance of Team Philippines in Vietnam should be a clear indication to the next administration that the country has significant potential as a regional leader in sports, performing above better-equipped teams like those of Indonesia and Singapore.