CALAMBA CITY, Laguna (PIA) – It started as an advocacy to help parents wean their children away  from their fixation with gadgets.

Philip Delarmino and wife Precious are elite muay thai athletes who are well-known in the province of Laguna for having won numerous medals for the Philippines in various international competitions.

Philip – known in the ring as “The Destroyer” – was a gold medalist in the 2021 IFMA World Championships and was a consistent medal winner in the Southeast Asian Games, his latest was a bronze medal in the 2023 SEAG in Cambodia. His wife, Precious meanwhile won a gold and a silver medal in the 2023 World Combat Games.

Together, the Laguna-based couple founded the Delarmino Muay Thai camp after several parents have sought their help to introduce their children to sports.

“There are parents who came to us saying if it is possible to have their children try Muay Thai, because most of them want their children to stay away from cellphone gadgets,” Precious narrated during a recent Usaping PIA radio program.

Their muay thai camp now has more than 40 youngsters from Nagcarlan and nearby towns under their wings since 2022.

In November 2023, Delarmino Muay Thai Camp joined the Muay Thai National Championship representing Laguna province in which they won the over-all champion feat bagging 15 gold medals, 9 silver, and 8 bronze. Laguna also ranked 10th in Philippine Sports Commission’s Batang Pinoy Competition for the first time with the help of the sport, making their two young players to the National Team.

Eciel Urriza, one of the newly recruited national team players from the Delarmino Muay Thai Camp said that she didn’t expect to be part of the national team and is more than happy for the recognition of her talent in Muay Thai. She felt that the sport brought positive results for her body.

“At first, I didn’t expect that I become one of the national player and I’m so happy because they saw my potentials in Muay Thai. Aside from that, I become more strong and physically healthy because there are times that I felt more strong especially after the trainings and Muay Thai helps me to avoid using gadgets and be more focused on the trainings,” she said.

Urriza, 14 started doing Muay Thai in 2022 and encouraged her fellow youth to try joining their Muay Thai camp to have the opportunity to showcase themselves in the sport.

She said: “To my fellow youths, join Muay Thai because you will gain a lot of friends and experiences. It will also help you to be more disciplined and to be healthy.”

The coaches then expressed their gratitude for the support of the Provincial Government of Laguna, through the Laguna Provincial Sports and Games Development Office, to the sport and the Muay Thai team which paved the way for them to participate on a national scale. 

“The support from Governor Ramil Hernandez and Laguna Sports [and Games Development] Office is the reason why we made it to the Batang Pinoy and of course to the LGU of Nagcarlan and Congressman Amben Amante who continuously give financial support in every competition we compete,” Delarmino added. 

The Delarmino Muay Thai Camp in Nagcarlan, Laguna is open from Monday to Sunday. (AM,CH/PIA-Laguna)

Usapang PIA is a weekly radio program by the Philippine Information Agency Laguna, streaming live every Friday, 11:00am-11:30am on DZJV 1458 kHz Radyo Calabarzon and Philippine Information Agency CALABARZON and PIA Laguna Facebook pages.