MUAYTHAI Association of the Philippines (MAP) secretary-general Pearl Managuelod may not be a national athlete, but she only has the athletes’ welfare on mind when she decided to join the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).
The establishment of POC Mental Health Commission and the Athletes Calamity Trust Fund are two of her priorities if and when she gets elected to the POC Board in the coming Nov. 27 elections.
Managuelod, daughter of MAP president (Ret.) Gen. Lucas Managuelod, believes she can accomplish a lot for the benefit of the Filipino athletes.
“Hindi ako naging atleta, but I’m really a sports-minded person. Madami akong programa na gagawin sa POC para sa mga atleta,” said Managuelod during the 20th Usapang Sports on Air’ by the Tabloids Organization in Philippine Sports (TOPS) via Zoom yesterday.
“I like this athetes-centered philosophy. We have to develop our athletes. We need to support their needs even in high-performance training,” added Managuelod, one of the top officials seeking to join the POC Board under the ticket of POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
Managuelod wants to bring her own winning formula in MAP to the POC.
“Sa muay, nag-o-observe lang ako nun simula.Then my interest developed when I was appointed as secretary-general. Nakita ko ang pangangailangan ng ating mga atleta,” explained Managuelod during the weekly public service program sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and Games and Amusements Board (GAB).
“I think we also need to revisit the POC values. If we can do that, mas madali ang pamamalakad sa ating organization,”added Managuelod, who studied Human Movement Science at the University of the Philippines and Human Kinetics-Intervention and Consultation (Applied Sports Psychology) at the University of Ottawa.
Managuelod said she will push for both mental health commission and a calamity trust fund for the athletes because of the new normal in sports.
“In the POC, we also need to establish an Athletes Calamity Trust Fund para makatulong tayo sa ating mga atleta at coaches, lalo na ngayong may pandemic at sunod-sunod ang mga super typhoon,”said Managuelod.
“Sa muaythai, ilang atleta at coach namin ang matinding naapektuhan ng pagbaha sa Luzon kamakailan dulot nang magkakasunod na bagyong tumama sa bansa.”
“May isa ding kasama namin ang naapektuhan ng COVID, pero maayos na siya sa tulong ng Philippine Air Force.”
Added Managuelod: “We also have to focus on the education of our athletes and prepare them when their career is over. Gusto natin silang tulungan matuto sa tamang pag-hawak ng kanilang income. That’s why we have all these webinars during this pandemic.”
Managuelod was joined in session by Tokyo Olympian Eumir Marcial, who is currently deep in training in the United States; and football legend Anton del Rosario and Maharlika Football Club general manager Choy Calunsod.
