Sometimes, in sports, the most frustrating thing is not losing.
It is realizing that after all the training, all the programs, all the lessons learned, we seem to be back at square one.
The Department of Education recently announced plans to strengthen physical education and sports programs in schools, partly to provide learners with alternatives to online gaming. On the surface, this is welcome news. Our children need more opportunities to move, play, compete, and simply enjoy being children.
But I cannot help asking: Haven’t we been here before?
The Philippines has never really lacked programs promoting grassroots sports and physical activity. During my time with the Philippine Sports Commission, I was fortunate to be part of the Children’s Games, a grassroots initiative that brought organized play and traditional games closer to communities and children. The idea was refreshingly simple: give children a space, a reason, and an opportunity to play.
And that is precisely why the latest announcement leaves me with mixed emotions.
I am glad the issue is being recognized. But I am also frustrated that we continue to talk about getting children away from screens as if we are discovering the problem for the first time.
We already know that sports can be an alternative. We know that children respond to play. We know that grassroots programs work when they are accessible, consistent, and supported by adults and communities.
In fact, DepEd’s own policies recognize the importance of school sports and physical activity. Its School Sports Club guidelines explicitly highlight the need to expand opportunities for physical activity beyond the regular PE curriculum.
So perhaps the challenge is no longer about creating another program.
It is about sustaining the programs we already know work.
A child does not need another memorandum to discover the joy of running, jumping, throwing, dancing, or playing patintero. What that child needs is a safe space, equipment that actually reaches the community, supported teachers and coaches, and programs that continue beyond the launch ceremony.
We should not start over every time a problem becomes urgent.
The goal should be simple: Make physical activity part of everyday childhood again.
Because if we keep returning to square one, our children will keep waiting at the starting line.
And they deserve better than that.
