By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
In this cruel world we live in, the word “courage” has been underestimated several times.
Efforts, words of encouragement, actions to spearhead a movement are often overlooked as things not worth appreciating.
One man’s courage and voice has paved the way for the return of sports in Iloilo City amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
After all, who else if not the Executive Assistant for Sports and Youth of the City?
Serving as the Ilonggos’ sports head, Rudiver Jungco Sr. found his opportunity following the transition from the strict Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) to a more relaxed General Community Quarantine (GCQ) set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
The transition meant several sporting activities were given the green light to resume after almost six months of hiatus.
In only a matter of weeks, the local government sporting office, headed by Jungco, made the first move that would mark the return of sports in the metro.
Jungco passed the request regarding the re-opening of the sports programs for the city under the accepted protocols of the IATF and fortunately, Mayor Jerry P. Treñas signed the letter and the start of the Iloilo City sports resumed.
“At first, mabudlay pa ang adjustment. Nag start kami from scratch and nag follow lang gd base sa IATF protocols. Mabudlay because ang trust sa mga tawo sa pag balik sang sports subong nga pandemic is always questioned but I am thankful because the Iloilo City Sports Academy became a testament that sports can somehow move on and embrace the new normal sa pamaagi sang pag set sang definite health and safety protocols for each sport allowed,” Jungco said in an exclusive interview with the Daily Guardian.
Sports such as lawn tennis, badminton, table tennis, chess, conditioning training for boxing, arnis, and football, and dragon boat are the ongoing programs that Jungco and his team are currently spearheading and have received positive response from the public.
The successful return of sports in Iloilo was recognized all over the Philippines and the hashtag #SanaAllIloilo trended after sports podcast ‘Sports Lockdown’ commended the efforts of Jungco and how they were able to adapt to the new normal.
Iloilo City’s lawn tennis program also caught the attention of Wilson Tennis PH’s sports podcast wherein they talked about how the players and coaches were still able to train while observing the strict protocols of the IATF.
The podcast further noted that Iloilo is the first city in the Philippines to have lawn tennis return amid the pandemic and having the courage to do such program is indeed a great achievement in these trying times.
When asked why Jungco was persistent to re-open his sports programs amid the pandemic, the Executive Assistant said that people whose outlet in releasing their emotions is sports, those whose mental health are bit by bit getting affected due to the lack of activity, and the mantra that Ilonggos can combat the virus as responsible people who follow the given the protocols are the three main things that encouraged him to re-open the city’s sports programs.
Currently, Jungco and his Iloilo City Sports Academy programs continue to cater Ilonggos while keeping health and safety as their top priority.
Jungco said he is confident sports will ultimately return to normalcy, adding “Iloilo is still alive. We need to adjust and adapt to the new normal. In a limited way due to constraints of the pandemic, we should fight.”
“Here in Iloilo City, sports is safe due to the safe sporting campaign. Sige gd dapat kita. Mabato kita. As long as we follow the IATF protocols and be responsible Ilonggos, ululupod kita sa pagbg.o.” closed Jungco.
