BY WAYLON GALVEZ
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Games and Amusements Board (GAB) Chairman Baham Mitra said Saturday that actual sports competitions may soon be allowed by the government if all professional athletes strictly follow health protocols.
Professional basketball and football athletes had earlier been allowed to practice under a Joint Administrative Order (JAO) signed by GAB, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), and the Department of Health (DoH) last week.
He said that since the country is still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, professional basketball and football players should strictly follow health protocols set by the JAO which were mandated by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
“Lahat tayo Filipino, lahat tayo iisa ang batas, at sa ngayon ang batas natin ang Inter-Agency Agency Task Force,” said Mitra on The Chasedown at One PH channel on Cignal TV.
“We are asking for utmost cooperation. If we do something, we should do it correctly. It’s better safe than sorry. If one mistake, (it) may have big effect on the whole sports industry and it might be all wiped out.”
“Kapag nagalit ang gobyerno sa atin sasabihin nila ‘ang gugulo ninyo, jan pa pala nagkakaron ng transmission (of COVID-19), i-hinto niyo na lahat yan’… ‘di pati yung mga tournaments natin mawawala. So I’m afraid of that,” he added.
Mitra, former governor of Palawan, said that while GAB won’t be “over regulating” these professional leagues, he will be active in every step to implement the rules to ensure guidelines are not violated. (Waylon Galvez)
