Tolentino seeks revival of baseball, softball on broader level

MANILA - Senator Francis 'TOL' N. Tolentino is pushing an effort to revive the country's baseball and softball games on a broader level.

Tolentino made the pronouncement during a Facebook live while watching a local baseball game in the United States on Saturday.

"Iniisip ko rin po na i-revive ang baseball (at softball) sa Pilipinas. Madali lang naman maintidihan ang baseball, ang kailangan lang natin bukod sa manlalaro, malaking palaruan. Siguro sa mga schools, yung ilan sa ating mga LGUs na may schools na maluluwag na lupa," said Tolentino.

According to Tolentino, baseball and softball were once famous in the country during the 1950s until the early 1970s. The senator did even recall that baseball and softly were once widely played especially in the provinces along the Southern Tagalog region.

"This can be revived. So tingnan po natin kung papaano po natin mare-revive itong baseball (at softball sa ating bansa--dahil hindi po kailangan ng height dito eh. Kailangan lang mag-training, at magaling kang pumalo at nauunawaan mo yung rules. Pasok na pasok po ito sa height ng ating mga kababayan," he added.

Internal conflict among local baseball and softball officials in past decades led to the games' decline in the local level. The Philippine baseball team though remains a powerhouse in the ASEAN region, bagging the gold medal during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games (SEAG).

Meanwhile, the senator also pointed out that the problem of obesity among Filipino youths can be addressed through playing sports like baseball and softball. Data from the Department of Health (DOH) last March revealed that one in 10 Filipino school-age children or 14 percent were overweight, while about 13 percent or 1 in 10 Filipino adolescents are considered obese.