The Department of Health (DOH) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) which aims to ensure the overall health and welfare of professional Filipino boxers.
The GAB is the agency tasked to regulate and supervise the conduct of professional boxing and other contact sports in the country. As such, it requires applicants to undergo and pass a complete medical examination administered by GAB licensed physicians, prior to approval or renewal of their boxing licenses.
Considering that the required series of medical examinations proved to be costly for the applicant boxers, GAB and other boxing stakeholders sought the assistance of DOH requesting that such examinations be given to professional boxers by the hospitals and medical centers for free.
Recognizing the financial burden of these examinations posed to clients, the DOH in partnership with GAB is extending free medical examinations to applicant and professional boxers in selected DOH hospitals across the country. Moreover, in cases wherein a professional boxer is slated to have World Championship fights, the DOH shall further provide additional services such as the eye examination, neurologic clearance, and HIV and Hepatitis C screening.
As stipulated in the MOA, both parties within thirty days after the MOA signing shall form a joint committee to draw the final guidelines necessary to implement the terms of this agreement.
“I assure our dedicated professional boxers that DOH welcomes this ongoing partnership with the GAB which aims to secure their overall well-being in the practice of this profession,” Ubial remarked.