Bam: Recognition as national athletes, another win for Pinoy gamers

Sen. Bam Aquino welcomed the Games and Amusements Board's move to recognize the Filipino e-gamers as national athletes, saying it is another big win for our talented Filipino gamers.

"We're very happy that these athletes are now legitimized and recognized by the Games and Amusement Board," Sen. Bam said in a statement in reaction to the GAB's move to legitimize the country's esports athletes, who have excelled in several local and international tournaments.

"We hope to continue developing the esports industry in the Philippines and supporting our professional gamers as they represent the Philippines, added Sen. Bam, a staunch supporter of eSports and video game development industry in the Philippines.

Sen. Bam said the move was timely since esports will be a demonstration sport at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. In 2022, esports will be an official medal event at the 2022 Hangzhou Games.

With GAB's accreditation, Sen. Bam expects the government to fully support the endeavors of Filipino e-gamers, including their participation in local and international tournaments to further hone their skills.

Sen. Bam is convinced that esports and the video game development sector both have huge potentials in bringing honor to the country and creating jobs and livelihood for Filipinos.

The senator helped establish Philippine esports Association (PeSPA) to strengthen the foundation of esports in the country, look after the welfare of cyber athletes and stakeholders and promote esports in the country.

"We have tremendous talent and potential to conquer the global gaming arena, which is why we worked with the eSports community to organize PeSPA and to resolve visa issues when they compete abroad," Sen. Bam stressed.