The end of what is

The Southeast Asian Games are painfully close, and this may be D-day for the highest authorities of sport in the Philippines. Given the likelihood of a poor performance, we may very well see a shake-up of the very foundations of the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee.

The reason we say that is that our expectations for the SEA Games have become so low that we are already hedging against disaster, cushioning ourselves in advance, and preparing for failure. In 1991, Manila hosted the SEA Games for the last time, and scored 91 gold medals, even threatening the leaders of the pack until the very last event, the marathon. Since then, despite advances in technology and training, and greater exposure to mass media and sports education, we have set our sights lower and lower. Now, our target for Vietnam isn’t even half of our haul here at home twelve years ago.

If one listens to Rep. Monico Puentevella, chairman of the House committee on youth and sports, it may well be time to change the entire structure of sports itself. The former tennis champion says that, if the country places lower than fourth in Vietnam, it will be an unacceptable finish, and Buhain and Dayrit will have to answer for it, albeit in different manners.

"If we finish fourth, I will acknowledge them," says the good congressman, also chairman of the national weightlifting body. "If not, then they will have to answer for it. It doesn’t matter what size delegation we send, given the situation, I think the bottomline is how many medals we will really bring in."

The POC has been pushing for a bigger delegation to provide exposure for athletes who are preparing for the 2005 SEA Games which will be hosted by the Philippines. In the past, this has been a convenient excuse for our athletes to come home empty-handed. The President herself has given financial assistance to the POC (in the midst of a tug-of-war with the PSC regarding who and how many will fly to Vietnam) but this will probably not be enough. The turf war between the PSC and POC has been a sore spot for the athletes for many months now. Motivation is going to be a problem.

Meanwhile, the PSC felt the tremors of a proposed "lifestyle check" that Puentevella announced for all government agencies in sport, specifically the PSC and Games and Amusements Board. Given the vast difference between their two budgets, the GAB will probably be left off the hook. Their meager resources barely cover their needs, let alone any possible excesses. They have been left behind by modernization, and their job is more regulatory than developmental. But the PSC is another story. The commission has reportedly not yet liquidated its expenses for the last Asian Games, included tens of millions of pesos in sponsorships donated by a major manufacturer of audiovisual and telecommunications equipment, one major vitamin brand, and others. Aside from that, the scent of showy material possessions like cars - well beyond the means of government employees - wafting through the air at Rizal Memorial Coliseum, has caught the attention of both the Executive and Legislative branches of government. All these are being asked for by Congress. There is also the problem of friction between the chairman and his minions and other commissioners. This writer has heard reports that mild-mannered commissioner Butch Ramirez has blown his top on more than one occasion over alleged attempts by interested parties to find dirt on him.

But the paths to atonement will be different for Buhain and Dayrit should the Philippines fall on its face in Vietnam. Buhain, a political appointee, only has to please President Arroyo, who has reportedly not been happy with him of late. His failure or excesses, real or perceived, will be met with a simple courtesy resignation and replacement, if it comes to that. For Dayrit, it is a more complex case of pleasing a majority of the POC General Assembly, which may or may not be easier, before he gets another mandate.

"I’m just issuing wake-up calls here," Puentevella adds. "Both gentlemen are friends of mine, but we have to improve. Something has to change. It’s as simple as that." Considering that the PSC has existed for 13 years and has not helped produce a single Olympic gold medal and only a handful of new world-class athletes, then the formula may not be working as its originator, Interior Secretary Joey Lina, intended.

Actually, Puentevella’s interest is more than mere duty. He firmly believes that the current structure lacks the backbone and clout of the national government to make sports succeed in the Philippines. His bill proposing the creation of a cabinet-level Department of Sports has passed first reading in the House. If - and the probability is great - the Philippines lands fifth or worse in Vietnam, it will be easier to get the bill through disappointed members of both chambers and enacted into law. That will be the first challenge.

The second challenge is doing it with the looming distraction of the coming elections. To simplify matters, Puentevella is proposing the mere transfer of personnel and funding from the PSC to the new agency. It will be impossible to get any additional appropriations through Congress in time. But when the department is set up, it may be able to tap other sources of funding, both private and government.

The last obstacle would be implementation. If either the current dispensation or one that is sympatheic prevails, then it would mean smooth sailing. If not, the bill’s proponent may have to go back to the drawing board, and, along with the rest of us, endure another year or more of pathetic output from the nation’s leading sports entities.

This week’s episode of The Basketball Show features Alaska’s title run in the PBA Mabuhay Cup, basketball look-alikes, and a profile of the UAAP’s leading Far Eastern University Tamaraws. The Basketball Show airs on IBC-13 every Saturday at 4 p.m.