PSC, Hayco leads Southeast Asia youth crime prevention meeting

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Commissioner Edward Hayco led this week’s Sports and Youth Crime Prevention (SYCP) meeting in Manila, bringing together representatives from Southeast Asian nations to strengthen the role of sports in youth development and crime prevention.

Hayco, a former longtime chairman of the Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) and widely regarded as Cebu’s “Father of Dancesport,” represented the PSC during the meeting. He also serves as vice convenor of the Philippine National Network (PNN).

He attended on behalf of PSC Chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio, who was named PNN convenor for the Southeast Asia Sports and Youth Crime Prevention (SEA-SYCP) initiative during its inaugural meeting in October last year.

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Delegates from Thailand, Laos and Vietnam attended the meeting, which focused on using sports as a strategic platform for crime prevention, social inclusion and youth development across the region.

Grassroots sports development

The advocacy is familiar territory for Hayco, who established Cebu City’s grassroots sports development program during his tenure as CCSC chair. The initiative reached underserved communities by providing free, long-term sports training for young people through volunteer coaches.

The program later became the model for the PSC’s nationwide grassroots sports initiative during the administration of former chairman Richie Garcia.

Now serving as a PSC commissioner, Hayco has expanded that mission to the national and regional level.

The SYCP initiative provides a platform for participating countries to exchange best practices, strengthen stakeholder collaboration and promote interagency partnerships aimed at increasing investment in sports-based youth crime prevention programs.

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Launched in 2025, the initiative is a joint program of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). Its implementation is supported by a consortium coordinated by the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice.

Crime prevention through sports

As part of the program, community-led, sport-based crime prevention projects will receive support over an 18-month period through mid-2027. The initiative provides funding and capacity-building opportunities for non-government organizations, sports federations, civil society groups and social enterprises that use sports to help create safer communities.

Selected organizations also receive training in leadership development, safeguarding, and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) to strengthen the long-term impact of their programs.

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