Dayrit echoes PSC concern on athletes

Philippine Olympic Committee president Celso Dayrit has urged the Philippine Sports Commission to make the training of the athletes preparing for this year’s Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam a top priority of the government agency.

"Considering that the PSC budget for this year has been cut by Congress, I think the PSC should prioritize its project," said Dayrit. "Our primary concern should be the training of athletes first before anything else because the Hanoi SEAG is just nine months away."

Dayrit’s statement could be a reaction to reports that the PSC has plans of pushing through with the Regional and National Games despite the meager P84.288 million budget appropriated by Congress this year.

Although the fencing head did not say it, he appeared wary of the possibility of the PSC tapping the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) as another source of fund for the agency.

The NSDF, which is the funds received allocated from the PSC’s share of the PAGCOR earnings, is traditionally used in funding the training and international stints of national athletes.

To allay these fears, Dayrit, who attended the POC general assembly meeting yesterday in a restaurant in Makati City, said Bacolod Congressman Monico Puentevella, who heads the weightlifting association, has offered to meet with PSC chairman Eric Buhain next week to discuss the issue.

"Congressman Puentevella has offered to meet with chairman Buhain in behalf of the POC to discuss the matter," said Dayrit. "This meeting is very important because we want to know what support the PSC would give to our athletes training for Hanoi.

"Aside from asking the PSC to continue supporting our athletes, we also would like to sit with him (Buhain) and maybe plan ahead because we’re not just looking at Hanoi here, we’re also thinking of the 2005 SEAG in Manila," he added.