PSC will grant ACAP’s demands if funds allow

Boisterous national coaches and athletes are demanding an immediate increase in allowances and improvement of living conditions. The Philippine Sports Commission agreed – subject to the availability of funds.

Citing lack of funds but making sure it would not offend the insistent group of coaches and athletes belonging to the newly-formed Athletes and Coaches Association of the Philippines, PSC chairman Carlos "Butch" Tuason yesterday agreed to their demands in principle.

"We agreed to their demands for repairs of the athletes’ quarters, for the increase in allowances, etc., but we also reminded them that all these require funding. And that is what we do not have at the moment," said Tuason.

Tuason said their demands for repair and improvement of training facilities may have to wait until 2003 at the earliest since the PSC does not have a budget for them this year and the 2002 budget from Congress does not provide for such expenditures.

He added that the PSC cannot touch the income from the National Sports Development Fund, which has the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp. and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office as its main sources of fund, because the income from these sources are allocated for the training, allowance and foreign travel of athletes.

The PSC receives between P20-M and P30-M a month from PAGCOR as its share in the latter’s revenues. An increase in allowances would drastically reduce the assistance the PSC could give as subsidy to national sports associations.

"So the catch here is for the NSAs to know what is happening. The NSAs have to be involved because their overall funding will be affected if we heed these demands," Tuason said.

Still, the PSC increased the athletes’ allowances over the weekend to satisfy, at least in part, one of the athletes’ demands. A Class A athlete will get P8,000 instead of P6,000, a Class B 6,000 from P4,000 and a Class C or developmental player P4,000 from P2,000. The PSC, in effect, restored the 1997 allowances which had been reduced till this year because of the economic crunch.

Tuason and commissioners Ritchie Garcia, Amparo Lim, and Cynthia Carrion met with ACAP, led by Jaime Sebastian, for four hours yesterday.

Sebastian said he was not happy with the outcome of the talks.

"Mukha ring walang mangyayari dahil walang pera ang PSC," he said. "Bahala na siya (Tuason) kung magagawa niya talaga iyan."