The Games and Amusements Board, Philippine Sports Commission, and the Department of Health officially approved on Wednesday the supplemental guidelines of their Joint Administrative Order (JAO) No. 2021-0002 to provide further guidelines on the conduct of sports and other physical activities under a bubble-type training modality during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new tripartite agreement has supplemented the 2020 JAO entitled, “Guidelines on the Conduct of Health-enhancing Physical Activities and Sports during the COVID-19 Pandemic” issued on June 27, 2020.
The 2020 JAO has restricted the conduct of scrimmages in areas under MGCQ (Modified General Community Quarantine). But with the approval of the new guidelines, team-based professional sports, such as basketball, volleyball, and football, can now resume training sessions with scrimmages in General Community Quarantine areas, provided that the activities are in an athletic bubble.
“We want to thank the IATF and the DOH for helping us forge this new policy direction and for recognizing the plight of our professional athletes and stakeholders, especially during these challenging times,” said GAB chairman Abraham ‘Baham’ Mitra.
According to the new JAO, both non-contact and contact sports are now permitted under a bubble-type training modality in GCQ and MGCQ areas, provided that the bubble training and competition shall be conducted without a live audience and in a bubble that shall not exceed 100 individuals, including all athletes, coaches, and other support personnel at any given time.