BAGUIO CITY – The city schools division office said there will be five fields of martial arts that will be debuted by the Baguio City Sports High School, which was created through a new law signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in January this year.

Dr. Soraya Faculo, Baguio City Schools Division Superintendent, said in a phone interview on Monday that the proposed implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Republic Act 12119 establishing the school includes the initial offering of arnis, archery, taekwondo, wushu and wrestling.

Faculo said the proposed IRR, a five-year development plan, and the curriculum requirement have been forwarded to the Department of Education (DepEd) central office for review and approval.

“We hope to start with the infrastructure within the year and formally open for the school next year,” she said.

The school will be administered and supervised by the DepEd in close coordination with the Philippine Sports Commission and the National Academy of Sports.

Various fields of martial arts are popular sports in the Cordillera region including Baguio City, and are medal haulers in regional, national and international sports competitions.

World-class wushu players from the region who became professional mixed martial artists include Eduard Folayang, who formed the “Lions Nation” team, whose home gymnasium is located in La Trinidad, Benguet.

Eslay Erika Bomogao, who recently landed among the world’s top women mixed martial artists, also started as a wushu amateur player in a local school.

Taekwondo world titlist Jeordan Dominguez is from Baguio, having started from grassroots school-based sports.

Several Southeast Asian martial arts experts also started their careers in the city.

“We hope that with the sports school focusing on martial arts, we will continue to reap medals in more sporting events,” Faculo said.

President Marcos signed last Jan. 3 the laws establishing the Baguio City Sports High School as well as the Baguio City High School for the Arts, to cater to talented youth in Baguio, the Cordilleras, and across Northern Luzon. (PNA)