SENATOR-ELECT Alan Peter Cayetano congratulated the national team for bagging fourth place at the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam which ended Monday.
“Our athletes gave their all to bring pride and honor to the country,” Cayetano said. “A big congratulations to our athletes on winning fourth place for our country.”
“Thank you for pouring your heart, mind, and soul onto the SEA Games,” he added.
The Philippines composed of 981 athletes, coaches and officials which hauled 52 gold, 70 silver and 104 bronze medals for a total of 226.
Host Vietnam emerged on top with 205-125-116 gold-silver-bronze followed by Thailand with 102-93-126 and Indonesia with 61-91-81. Singapore was fifth with 47-46-73 and Malaysia sixth with 39-45-90.
“All things considered, we did very well in the SEA Games,” Cayetano said. “We have to remember our athletes were on and off during training because of the pandemic. And to put it in perspective, this is biggest medal when our athletes are competing overseas.”
Cayetano said the Philippines can now focus on future games “now that the threat of the pandemic is subsiding and our athletes can focus on their training.”
“I’m excited on out athletes’ performance in future sports competitions, we have the momentum, our quest for gold continues,” he said.
Cayetano reiterated his call for sufficient financial and educational support from the government to Filipino athletes.
“Imagine a full government support to our athletes, from education to training to expenses. We can easily become champion in international events,” he said.
The senator-elect vowed to follow through on the development of the National Academy of Sports which he said is “a good step towards giving our athletes what they need and deserve.”
He also reiterated his push for the development of sports tourism, saying sports can not only generate billions of dollars for the country’s economy but can also be a tool in “raising a generation of healthy and disciplined Filipinos.”
“There are many advantages that sports can do for our society and the economy. A lot of industries—car rentals, catering, hotels, event organizers, et cetera—can earn income from sports tourism events,” he said.
The Philippines earned more than P500 million in revenue from hosting the 12-day SEA Games in 2019.
According to the World Tourism Organization, sports tourism generates annual revenues of USD800 billion, and is projected to grow by more than USD890 during 2021 to 2025.