1Pacman, Romero initiated congressional grant for Brownlee
Justin Brownlee joins Milka Romero, 1Pacman Party-list first nominee, in the advocacy for sports and youth development.
MANILA, Philippines – Justin Brownlee’s basketball heroics at the 2022 Asian Games, Carlos Yulo’s double gold medal performance at the Paris Olympics last year, and Hidilyn Diaz’s history-making golden lift at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are proud moments in Philippine sports that one of the country’s most active sports leaders hopes to have more of in the coming years.
“These glorious triumphs serve as invaluable boosts to our morale as a nation. They define who we are as a people,” said sportsman Mikee Romero as he finishes his third term as representative of 1Pacman Party-list, the stalwart of sports development as a crucial tool in nation-building.
Romero, whose involvement as sports leader covers such sports as basketball, volleyball, cycling, polo, shooting, and baseball, is particularly proud of the Philippines’ conquest of the Asian Games basketball title in Hangzhou, China in 2022.
READ: 1-Pacman party-list leaders cited for extraordinary impact on lives of Filipinos
Justin Brownlee scattered 20 points to power Gilas Pilipinas to the AG title, breaking a six-decade title drought in the event the Philippines used to dominate on the continent. Before that, the Filipinos, led by the legendary Carlos Loyzaga, won the crown in 1962.
No one was more elated by the Philippine victory than Romero, the legislator who initiated the congressional grant of Philippine citizenship for Brownlee, the spark plug of the popular Ginebra San Miguel team in the Philippine Basketball Association.
In a way, the country’s resurgence as a basketball power in Asia was yet another jewel in Romero’s collection of proud moments in Philippine sports, both as a leader and an athlete. The congressman was a basketball player himself and had supported the growth of Philippine basketball long before he chose a career in public service as the leader of 1Pacman.
He played basketball for De La Salle University. As a young entrepreneur, he owned and managed the Harbour Centre basketball team, which was the seven-time champion of the Philippine Basketball League until 2009.
During those years, the Philippine Sportswriters Association, which noted his successful efforts to support Philippine teams’ international campaigns, gave him the moniker Godfather of Philippine Amateur Basketball. These include the 2007 Southeast Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) championship.
Later, his Northport team, later known as GlobalPort Batang Pier, joined the PBA.
Then as a major figure behind the airline company Philippines AirAsia, Romero also owned the AirAsia Patriots, which won the championship in the inaugural year of the ASEAN Basketball League in 2009.
In earlier interviews, Romero had referred to the pursuit of winning as a science. And this particular science, he said, needed stages of skill-building, preparation, and a strong mindset for winning.
“It can be done, and it needs to be done — this task of adding more glory in sports because Filipinos are naturally in the league of champions,” said Romero.
Meanwhile, he supported other sporting activities, having been a medalist in arnis, shooting, and cycling at one time or another. He was the youngest president of the Philippine National Shooting Association and the International Cycling Federation of the Philippines.
He was one of the pioneers of the Philippine Baseball Association, the country’s first professional baseball league. His Manila Sharks won three straight championships. In 2012, he was the delegation head of the Philippine National Team for the London Olympics.
This month, Congressman Romero figures in another exciting world sporting event, the US Polo Open, making a historic first as a Filipino. His Globalport polo team has qualified for the most prestigious event in this sport of royals.
Public service beckoned for Romero nine years ago with the founding of 1Pacman Partylist. The acronym 1Pacman officially stands for One Patriotic Coalition of Marginalized Nationals. Manny Pacquiao, the boxing great nicknamed Pacman, put in his weight behind the high-performing group that seeks to improve the lives of Filipinos through his advocacy of sports development, youth education, and poverty alleviation.
Like Romero, Pacquiao aims to revive the glory days of Philippine sports.
The boxing champion seeks to regain his seat in the Senate while 1Pacman aims to continue its prolific legislative record in the mid-term elections in May.
Romero is handing over the reins of the 1-Pacman Partylist to his daughter, Milka.
Milka, a young multi-awarded sports, socio-civic, and business leader, is the 1Pacman first nominee. Former Congressman Bobby Pacquiao, the champion’s brother, is the second nominee.
