APPARENTLY encouraged by the popularity of Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, the Department of Education now wants to include boxing in the Physical Education classes of public school students in the country.
According to outgoing acting Education Secretary Fe Hidalgo, the suggestion has been taken up during a meeting of the technical committee of the department although it has yet to be tackled in an en banc session.
Hidalgo said the committee had to set aside the discussion on the topic and instead focus on the investigation being done to resolve the problems with regards to the alleged cheating in the recent Palarong Pambansa.
“That [inclusion of boxing in PE] is still being discussed in the technical committee. But they are first focusing on the recent Palarong Pambansa scam,” Hidalgo said.
Boxing is one of the three most popular sports in the country, or one of the 3Bs (basketball, boxing and billiards) that Filipinos love to watch and engage in. But recently, boxing has become even more popular because of the exploits of Pacquiao and other world-class Filipino boxers.
With this development, the department is reportedly planning to use boxing as one of the top sports that is to be included in the PE curriculum.
The plan to include boxing in the PE curriculum, according to sources in the department, is aimed at discovering and training more young Filipinos, who could become world boxing champions like Pacquiao.
Hidalgo, however, said they have yet to meet and discuss it during sessions as she had advised the technical committee to first finish the controversy involving the Palarong Pambansa.
This would mean that if approved, boxing will be part of the PE classes of public school students. It is also being discussed if it would be implemented in both elementary and high school or for the secondary level alone.
With regards to the Palaro controversy, Hidalgo said Undersecretaries Franklin Sunga and Antonio Inocentes had been tasked to head the investigative team composed of other lawyers in the department.
The group is probing allegations that some teams fielded overage players and substituted some names on the players’ roster.
Hidalgo has signed Education Memorandum no. 207, which created the team.
The panel took a deeper look at the documents submitted by the players, including their birth certificates, to determine their real and exact age. Members of the team will also interview students, parents, and all those involved in the alleged cheating as part of its data gathering. Florante S. Solmerin
