1-Pacman party-list nominee Milka Romero reaches out to Cebu seniors

1-Pacman first nominee Milka Romero leads the distribution of goods to senior citizens in Cebu on Dec. 7, 2024.

CEBU CITY —The first week of December here proves to be an auspicious time for the 1-Pacman party list as it continued to reach out to not just hundreds of athletes for vital training but also over 1,000 senior citizens with the gospel of wellness.

“Our advocacy for sports development and youth covers all sectors. From sporting groups to families, to civic communities, and senior citizens,  everyone needs to be involved to ensure wellness through sporting excellence in the Philippines,” according to 1-Pacman party list chairman and first nominee Milka Romero.

The 1-Pacman Party List group met over 1,000 senior citizens of Barangay Inayawan and nearby areas.

READ: 1-Pacman solon is House’s richest with P7B declared in SALN

She told members of the media in a press conference here that the senior citizens are important partners in the advocacy of wellness for the youth through sports.

“They, who are enjoying their ripe ages, are the best people to show the youth about why it is so important to care for ourselves, in body, mind, and spirit,” she said.

1-Pacman first nominee Milka Romero addresses senior citizens in Cebu City on Dec. 7, 2024.

The party list presented rice and medicine assistance to the senior beneficiaries.

The visit to the barangay was also timed with the scheduled games of the  Premier Volleyball League (PVL) event at the Minglanilla Sports Complex.

The 1-Pacman party-list leaders earlier visited Barangay Inayawan here with volleyball players from Capital 1 Solar Spikers and team coach Roger Gorayeb. They kept an appointment with over 100 players for the 1-Pacman Volleyball Clinic.

A week ago, a younger set of players from the localities, aged 10 to 18 years old received training in sporting skills from Capital 1 at the Bankal Gym in Mandaue City. The clinic was followed by the 1-Pacman Volleyball Festival in Lapu-Lapu City where 27 youth teams competed at the Subangdaku Gym. Singing and merriment followed with guest performers.

In the morning at Barangay Inayawan, Romero addressed not just the players who signed up for the training but the crowd that welled at the training site.

She spoke to the parents present and acknowledged their important role in encouraging and supporting the special needs of athletes in their families

“We salute you for the vital nurturing that you have provided for all our athletes to become who they are now, and where they are now,” she said.

“As an athlete myself, I am grateful for all the proddings, all the encouragement, all the minute things and deeds our parents have provided us –  from waking us up for early morning trainings, to packing our meals, to washing our soiled athletic wear, to squeezing in additional training with our family budgets,” she said.

“To all the ates, kuyas, siblings, who were always there to lend a hand – even in fetching or bringing to practices, or sometimes, rushing to the game sites – because your athlete sibling left at home the water jug or the shoes or uniforms needed for the games, we salute you all,” she added.

According to 1-Pacman, it aims through its sports advocacy to help young athletes until they can fly on their own and until they begin to strengthen their inner resolve to achieve and improve their self-confidence.

To the participating athletes, she said: “Your stories will one day inspire the children out there, from all over our archipelago.”

The party-list group marked its ninth year in Congress with a record of being the author and sponsor of 144 laws and over 1,000 bills that zero in on our country’s needs.

In its first term, 1-Pacman succeeded in getting the law in place for the country’s first National Academy of Sports. This is made possible by 1-Pacman’s authorship of Republic Act 11214, which mandates the setting up of the Philippine Sports Training Center.

With this center, the Philippine vision of sporting excellence shapes up with systematic and scientific training of athletes to achieve their very best.

“We, at 1-Pacman, will continue the needed vigilance so that innovations and our concerted efforts to achieve our dreams for Philippine sports and youth will be realized,” Romero said.