PSC willing to help Godfather

The Philippine Sports Commission, trying to avoid confrontation with Presidential Adviser Richard Gomez, said yesterday it was willing to sit down with the latter for the implementation of his Godfather Scheme, but hinted it would not work under the actor-national fencer.

"He (Richard Gomez) should approach us and brief us about the Godfather Program because surprisingly, we have little knowledge of this project," said PSC commissioner Ricardo Garcia, who spoke in behalf of the PSC.

"We should emphasize the word coordination here because it's very important and vital to the success of the Godfather program," Garcia stressed.

The statement came on the heels of a Malacañang announcement approving the Godfather program which Gomez proposed to the President to help finance the training of athletes through private sector contributions.

The PSC had also sought Presidential approval of a similar project, the Atleta Program, which is also seeking private sector support to help national athletes.

Asked if the PSC is willing to work under Gomez' own fund raiser, Garcia said: "The Godfather Scheme and Atleta are two different programs. We're willing to work side by side with Gomez."

He, however, clarified that Godfather is a short-term, sports-based project while their Atleta is more on long-term and athlete-based.

In an apparent move to prevent conflicts between the PSC and Goma, Press Secretary Ricardo Puno yesterday also sent the PSC a fax message saying that the President is not at all junking the PSC's Atleta Program.

"It just goes to show that Malacañang is amenable to supporting both projects," Garcia said.

At the same time, Philippine Olympic Committee president Celso Dayrit welcomed the Godfather program, saying "all schemes beneficial to sports should be lauded."

Dayrit was one of the biggest supporters of Gomez's program, which focuses on all National Sports Associations preparing for the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2001 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia unlike the Atleta, which is centered only on 16 selected sports.

However, sports officials had their reservations on an Atleta-Godfather scheme because it would create confusion particularly among prospective donors who would find it hard deciding which program merits their financial contributions.