PSC and POC

Newly-installed Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Ricardo 'Richie' Garcia said that the first move that he would make would be to unite his office and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

These two bodies have long existed like oil and water - you can put them together, but there is no way to mix them.

For the benefit of the uninformed, the PSC is the government body tasked to oversee the sports program of the country. The POC, on the other hand, is a private organization composed of the various national sports associations of NSAs.

The NSAs are the different sporting groups running the affairs of each sports discipline. Thus, these groups are the ones that handle the technical aspect of the training of athletes and the development of the grassroots programs.

The PSC's role, from what I know, is basically to support the NSAs, thus also the POC, in their sports programs. Support, of course, is basically money to help make the wheels of sports development move.

Just like any funding body, the PSC also wants to make sure that the money would go to the right organization, which is the reason why only one NSA should be recognized for each sport.

There are sports that have more than one national organization, but the POC would only recognize one.

As a believer in public and private sector partnership for development, the relationship between the PSC and the POC should have been one of the best examples for such.

Unfortunately, there were misunderstandings (for lack of a better word) that have led to squabbles between the leadership of the two bodies the most recent was that between former PSC Chairman Harry Agping and POC President Peping Cojuangco.

With Chairman Richie now at the helm of the PSC, I believe that he can make things work with the POC that is headed by Cojuangco.

I have known the new chairman for many years and have been one of those who applauded his appointment as commissioner in the past. Now that Richie is the chairman, I am hoping for better things to come for Philippine sports.

What happens after major international competitions is that many people would like to get into the picture of sports without thinking if their effort would contribute to development or not.

While sports is definitely good politics, unfortunately you cannot reverse such by saying that politics is good for sports. Politics ruins the essence of sports and in the end it is the sport itself that becomes the loser.

This year, we have the Asian Games to look forward to, but this should not be used as the measurement on how effective the new PSC leadership is. However, the result of the Asiad should be used as a basis to map out the route that would be taken for the future.

The route need not be something that will have to be created from scratch, but could be something that we're already using, but just needs improvement.

All the best for you, Chairman Richie!

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MILESTONES: Birthday greetings go to my fellow UP High Cebu alumni Alfred Jacinto and Jeremy Robles.

Advance greetings go to Anne Marie Conejero, Darlene Durano-Salas, Chalimar Alfar-Evardone, Mitch Lorenzana, Reno Bacolod, and Nonoy Espeleta, who are turning a year older tomorrow.

More power to all of you!

I am also asking our readers for prayers for the soul of my dear aunt, Dede Quiñones-Edlich, whose 4th death anniversary we are commemorating today.