Duterte mum on SEA Games row but pushes creation of national sports academyBy The Manila Timeshome/News/Latest Stories/Today's Breaking News/Duterte mum on SEA Games row but pushes creation of national sports academyPRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte did not talk about the controversy surrounding the upcoming 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, which the Philippines would host from November to December but instead pushed for the creation of a national sports academy for high school students during his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday. The PHSS will provide its students a training program that will groom them into national athletes capable of competing in the Southeast Asian, Asian and Olympic levels. Besides sports skills, the PHSS will also provide the students the needed skills to make them employable after high school. Duterte previously signed a law establishing the Philippine Sports Training Center (PSTC), a state-of-the-art and highly-scientific sports complex. The Philippines Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) is embroiled in a controversy surrounding allegedly questionable deals with the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) that has resulted in the resignation of its president Ricky Vargas.

Source: Manila Times July 22, 2019 12:11 UTC