PSC offers venues to private sector

In anticipation of a drastic cut on its annual budget, the Philippine Sports Commission may soon open its doors to private entities who will be willing to pay for the construction or renovation of different sports venues.

Philippine Sports Commission chairman Butch Ramirez broached the idea yesterday or three days after he completed a short working visit on the United States Olympic Committee headquarters in Colorado Springs.

Ramirez learned that the entire USOC budget comes from the private sector, and the PSC chief could only wish that the same thing could happen to the Philippine Olympic Committee.

Ramirez, who also visited the University of Las Vegas at Nevada (UNLV) and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), said the PSC can work hand in hand with the POC regarding this.

"The POC can always approach the private sector. The PSC cannot duplicate this function but we can always help. All we need here is a memorandum of agreement among the POC, PSC and the private sector," said Ramirez.

The PSC chief said any private individual can come in and help regarding the venues where the national athletes train. He cited as an example Wilfred Steven Uytengsu who loves swimming.

"Just as an example, Mr. Uytengsu can shoulder the expenses of renovating the swimming pool inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and have it named after the Uytengsu family," he said.

Other venues inside the RMSC where the private sector can contribute in renovating are those in bowling, gymnastics, boxing, tennis, athletics, weightlifting, badminton, sepak takraw, pencak silat or even basketball.

Ramirez said some generous private individuals may welcome the idea especially if a special package could be prepared, probably including tax credits for the entire amount to be spent on the venues.

The PSC is facing a drastic cut on its budget that comes from Congress. From P70 million in 2005, the government sports agency, unless late changes are effected, will only receive P28 million this year.

This budget, which is part of the General Appropriations Act, is being used by the PSC for its grassroots development programs, infrastructure projects, and for the salaries of its hundreds of officials and employees.

The P28 million, Ramirez said, would only be enough to pay for the salaries, meaning the 16-year-old agency may be forced to touch the budget reserved for the athletes in order to fund its grassroots programs and infrastructure projects.

Ramirez said touching the budget for the athletes, known as the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) should be the last recourse. And the entry of the private sector, at least for the repair and construction, can certainly help.