Sports under Ed

Punto Central Luzon

HARD TO GET
By Joey Aguilar

Sports under Ed

I may not know everything about his personality, but I will always remember him as a good mayor who has a heart for athletes like me.

Under his administration 12 years ago, every athlete was treated like a Manny Pacquiao, not because we were given millions of pesos for every gold medal, but because we have enough of everything before and after every competition.

It was not only because we have more allowances, branded sports equipment, vitamins, energy drinks, food (from breakfast to midnight snacks) and incentives, but because he was the only mayor who, for seven straight days, slept and ate with us watching and cheering for every team who are competing in the field.

He stayed with us during those trying times when almost everyone suffered from diarrhea (after drinking contaminated water in Zambales). He immediately ordered city officials to immediately get and supply clean and potable water in every room of the quarters.

During the competition proper, he gave athletes incentives for every point, for every win, for every homerun, and for every medal they won. Even coaches have their own share for "bringing home the bacon."


For that, the Angeles City bagged the overall championship in the Central Luzon Regional Athletic Association (CLRAA) meet in Iba, Zambales in 1993 despite 80 percent of the athletes were suffering from diarrhea.

The following year, we won again under his leadership.

Well, I thought that everything, all those happy moments in the CLRAA would end after the event. But he proved me wrong. Moral and financial support from the city continued in Cebu City during the 1994 Palarong Pambansa. Aside from other allowances, every Angeleno athlete who wins a game received P200 from the city government and another P200 from education officials in region 3. Winning two games in a day means earning P800, and for us, it was more than enough to buy "pasalubong" for our parents, relatives and friends. Well, much more if we won the gold since P3,000 was at stake then for individual events while team champions received P5,000.

Going back home from every regional and national competition, he sets a day to meet and congratulate us "for a job well done." For him, winners are winners and losers are winners. He considers them heroes for bringing glory for the city and for fostering camaraderie among athletes and coaches from other provinces and regions.

Aside from those competitions, he would organize other games and events solely for Angelenos – all in the month-long Fiestang Kuliat. Name it – chess, volleyball, funrun, basketball, shootfest, other ball games and the traditional carabao race – were all included in the program. All these have inspired the Angeleno athlete to strive for excellence.


A week ago, I met some of my co-athletes in SM Clark whom I haven't seen for years. "Working abroad is really very challenging but of course financially rewarding," said one of them. "But I won't forget CLRAA and the Palarong Pambansa in 1994. It was the best of times," he adds.

I asked him, "kilala mo pa ba kung sino mayor noon?"

"Oo naman, edi si Ed Pamintuan."