Thoughts for month's end

It's an hour before August rolls in. I committed to writing an article today, and have less than 60 minutes to do so. So, let's see how this goes...

After the historic gold medal victory of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, all eyes are on another female athlete, boxer Nesthy Petecio. She's already assured herself of a podium finish, but why settle for silver when you can go for another gold.

More than her fighting spirit when inside the ring, I love how she's already claimed a win for women in their respective sports disciplines, and her confidence that Filipinas will outshine their male counterparts.

The fact that the first Olympic gold for the Philippines came from the efforts of a woman makes the feat even sweeter. For so long, sportswomen have played second fiddle to guys.

Support for athletes is unfortunately inadequate. Sports is just not a priority in this country, and that is such a shame. Basketball is, however. And that's even more pathetic when I feel we can excel more in other disciplines where height is not a primary factor for winning.

It's also sad that the private sector is willing to throw in the big bucks to back basketball when there are other more worthy sports they can support with a better chance of winning.

So, it truly is a sacrifice that athletes must make in order to become the best in their chosen sport, especially in disciplines not as popular.

That they are deprived of international exposure due to lack of resources is a fact. So, they either have to beg for sponsorships or forego the opportunities that can further improve their skills as they compete against the best in the world.

How can government not support them when they'll eventually represent the country each time they participate in competitions? That's the bigger pressure on them: playing for flag and not just for self.

And because the only thing we fellow Filipinos can do is pray for our athletes in the Tokyo Olympics, especially those who have advanced so they can compete for at least a podium finish, then let's do that fervently.

I can't wait for the next few days when a boxer or gymnast or track athlete brings us another medal. Their victories come at a time when we need something to cheer about and light our way in the darkness we've been trapped in.

After next week, the National Capital Region and nearby provinces will again be placed under hard lockdown.

Hopefully, government already has a plan in place on how to arrest the alarming increase in the coronavirus Delta variant because otherwise, strict quarantine will be useless.

In the same vein, I pray that the citizenry will do its part to help curb this invisible menace that has disrupted life like no one ever imagined. In large part, I know that we are not moving forward to restoring normalcy in everyday life because so many people still don't care enough to do what is being asked to keep safe and protect others.

It's encouraging to read that local government units have been given the green light to go house-to-house in their vaccination drive. This should help minimize people going out, waiting endlessly in centers for their turn, while forgetting about safety protocols like physical distancing.

When you think about it, sending teams to go to people's homes is more effective. It may even increase the rate of inoculation because there are those who don't go for the jab because they have no means to travel, or have no one to accompany them, or have no one to stay at home with kids.

If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, then let Muhammad go to the mountain, goes the saying.

Besides, after accompanying my Mom for her jab, I saw teams huddled together waiting for people to come and get processed for vaccination. How's that for physical distancing?

They'd get the job done faster and more economically if they went to people's homes.

Sacrifice. That's the key. But it can't just be by one person or a few. The virus doesn't choose whom to attack. So everyone must sacrifice, in whatever capacity.

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