In separate messages released to media, Rep. Francis "Blueboy" Nepomuceno and Rep. Ed Zialcita of Parañaque called a halt on hostilities, saying these only put the country in bad light.
"Continuous quarrel among sports leaders will not do anything good for the country. Sports should unite friends and enemies alike. The foreign visitors in the SEA Games will have a bad impression on the way the Philippines handles its sports activities if the confrontation continues,’’ Nepomuceno said.
Zialcita said that while every Filipinos would want to see basketball be played in the biennial meet, it appears too late in the day to re-include the event in the SEA Games sports calendar.
He advised sports leaders to train their sights on other sports such as athletics, taekwondo, tennis, boxing, among others.
"It’s fine for me to host the basketball games. But if there is no time to include it, I hope our sports leaders should rather look on the situation of our athletes in other sports," said Zialcita Sunday when the SEA Games torch relay passed by Parañaque City.
The lawmakers’ statements came a day after Senators Lito Lapid, Bong Revilla, Mar Roxas, Jinggoy Estrada, Joker Arroyo, Alfredo Lim, Juan Flavier, Nene Pimentel and Ping Lacson signed a petition urging the POC to reinstate the BAP that would pave the way for the re-inclusion of basketball in the SEA Games.
Zialcita cited bowling, arnis and badminton, as sports where Filipinos can excel.
"We have still 439 events to work on, and personally I believe that we could snare the SEA Games overall title. We’ve got the best advantage here as a host and the talents of our athletes are also unquestionable," he added.
Parañaque will play host to bowling and billiards and snooker in the biennial meet set Nov. 27 to Dec. 5.
Zialcita presided over the turnover of the torch to Pasay City Mayor Pewee Trinidad at the boundary of Pasay and Parañaque in Baclaran. The symbolic flame was welcomed by youth and sports affairs, rescue team and city government officials.
Among those who carried the torch include former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) star Elmer Reyes, former swimming Olympian Jairulla Jaitulla and City Executive Assistant Miki Trinidad.
The flame passed through major roads of Pasay City starting from Baclaran through Roxas Blvd, FB Harrison and ended at the Edsa Magallanes near the Makati-Pasay boundary.
