House tackles RP’s stint in SEA Games

It definitely won’t be a walk in the park when the country’s top sports leaders, led by Philippine Olympic Committee president Celso Dayrit and Philippine Sports Commission chairman Carlos Tuason, face the House Committee on Youth and Sports today at the Lakandula function room of the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City.

"We will have a lot of good and bad things to talk about," said Isabela Rep. Antonio Abaya yesterday as he looked forward to the meeting where the country’s participation in the recent Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, the future plans and programs of the POC and the PSC, and a couple of House Bills waiting to be passed will be tackled.

The presidents of the various National Sports Associations — whether they fared good or bad in the Malaysian Capital — have also been invited to the meeting to be presided over by Bacolod Congressman and former PSC commissioner Monico Puentevella in his capacity as committee chairman.

According to Puentevella, the sports officials will be asked to brief the committee on the results of the SEA Games, the performance of the 350 athletes who competed, and their plans for the future regarding local sports. House Bills 713 and 927, which center on cash incentives for the athletes, will also be taken up in the 10 a.m. meeting.

The Philippines bagged a total of 30 gold, 66 silver and 67 bronze medals in the 10-day, 10-nation competition and finished fifth overall behind Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, which nosed out the Philippines for fourth overall with its 33 gold medals. The Philippines won 20 gold medals for fifth overall two years ago in Brunei.

Sports officials said the fact that we won 30 gold medals and sent so many athletes in the medal rounds is enough achievement, despite the fact that the country fell short of their projected 40 gold medals. "We may not have met our goals but we did not do badly either," Tuason had said upon his return from Kuala Lumpur.

The PSC seeking a bigger budget for next year might also be brought up during the meeting. The PSC is asking for P249 million, which would be a big jump from the P119 million it got from the general appropriations this year. Tuason said the bigger budget would help the country as it prepares for next year’s Asian Games in Korea.