By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) is hoping to start training some of the national athletes by January next year in a bubble set up at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.
“We’re all set, we’re just waiting for the go signal from the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force),” said PSC chairman Butch Ramirez.
If it gets the green light from the IATF, the government’s sports-funding agency is targeting to bring in athletes from boxing, taekwondo, karatedo and other contact sports in the Inspire by next month.
It will include Olympic-bound Irish Magno and some other Tokyo hopefuls like 2019 world champion Nesthy Petecio, karate’s Jamie Lim, and taekwondo’s Pauline Lopez, Samuel Morrison and 2016 Rio veteran Kirstie Alora.
Ramirez said it will cost the agency P15 million for the training.
“The negotiation is doing good, we’re going to pay,” said Ramirez.
Ramirez also said he had already told his medical team to be extra tight during the training resumption by implementing strict medical protocols to prevent members of the national team from being infected by the coronavirus.
“There is that fear and we hope none will be infected. That’s why I already instructed our team to be very, very strict with health protocols, it will stop if even one of our own gets infected,” said Ramirez.
