President Rodrigo Duterte finally signed the law that would establish the National Academy of Sports (NAS).
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that Duterte signed the Republic Act (RA) 11470 in Davao City on June 9.
“The Philippines has demonstrated that we can be on par with our neighbors in the region in terms of sports. With PRRD’s (President Rodrigo R. Duterte) signing of RA 11470, we are confident that we will be able to raise our student-athletes’ competitiveness in the field of sports and produce world-class athletes in the years to come,” Roque said.
Under the newly-signed law, NAS is tasked to give secondary education program that focused on developing the skills of young Filipino athletes.
They’re going to grant a full scholarship to the qualified athletes.
It’s planned to be built in New Clark City near the world-class Sports Complex where the 2019 Southeast Asian games held.
Aside from NAS, the law also seeks to build a high school for sports in different regions of the country.
NAS will be equipped with housing, sports facilities, and other amenities that would follow the international standards.
Students would also be given access to the existing sports facilities in New Clark City so they could train properly.
NAS officials are also allowed to hire foreign coaches, trainers, and consultants to ensure that the students would be competitive internationally.
The budget of NAS would be funded by the Department of Education’s annual budget.
“As the Chairman of the Committee on Sports, I would like to express my gratitude to my fellow legislators for coming together in support of this measure for the benefit of our youth and for the benefit of Philippine sports,” Senator Christopher “Bong” Go one of the authors of the law said.
“Napirmahan na po ni Pangulong Duterte ang batas para maisakatuparan ang National Academy of Sports! Ang tagumpay na ito ay para sa ating mga batang atleta na nangangarap na magbigay karangalan sa ating bansa,” Sen. Win Gatchalian posted.
Last year, Bases and Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) President Vince Dizon already said that it’s already the best time to build a school that would focus on sharpening the skills of the young athletes who wanted to represent the country.
“Right now, we have the Philippine Science High School, we have the Philippine High School for the Arts, but we don’t have a Philippine High School for Sports,” said Dizon.
“This is going to be a fully subsidized high school from junior to senior, where we will have scholars who will be recruited through the Philippine Sports Commission and from the Department of Education,” he explained.