Born on September 29, 1972 in the City of Manila, Arnold “Ali” Ilagan Atienza is a true public servant whose preoccupation in life is to make a difference by giving his best share in uplifting lives of fellow Filipinoes.

Because of this, he has always been in government either as a sports official, inner city development official, youth and sports leader, green manila committee chairman, and Presidential Assistant for Youth and Sports

He has been privileged to be chairman of the Manila Sports Council since 2001, making him one of the youngest ever to supervise the sports program of the country’s premiere city. And during his term, Manila has been able to stage the Manila Youth Games National Invitational, three editions of the Manila Marathon and four successful editions of the Manila Youth Games, first-of-its-kind city-wide, and now, nation-wide sports fest conceived not only to serve as an athletic tool for the city’s and country’s youth, but also as a vehicle for molding assets of society.

Ali was a former member of the national tae kwon do team for nearly a decade and have had extensive experience in managing major youth-oriented sports activities and competitions.

It was in 1994 when Ali distinguished himself as a national athlete by being the first Filipino to ever beat a Korean in an international tournament and win an Asian championship at the age of 21. He holds the distinction of being the country’s lone gold medallist in the 1994 Asian Tae kwon do Championships.

As an international sports official, he has traveled abroad to build bridges with other sports national, which has given him precious opportunities to acquire the sufficient knowledge on the best sports development practice and management.

As an official of the City of Manila, he was able to develop almost 8 kilometers of sidewalk and streetlighting projects, rehabilitated twenty health centers, four markets and a dozen parks and playgrounds.