The need for real sports legislation

Time and again, as proven last week, we experience the spectacle of Congress laying taxpayers’ money on the line to conduct hearings on sports events and personalities allegedly in aid of legislation. Far too often, Congress as a whole is unable to accomplish what it sets out to do for several reasons: legislators are unable to compel pertinent persons to attend these hearings; the congressmen themselves are not well-versed in sports in general; and lastly, they do not follow through on what they say they will.

To be fair, we can’t blame congressmen for not understanding sports. They have to understand everything they get into, develop an ability to judge what is significant or not, and rely on their staff, who often either come from a similar background, or are young and inexperienced. At times, congressmen go into a hearing relying on what they think they know, and this blunts their effectiveness in getting to the root of the issues at hand.

What we need is a dedicated group of sports people who will delve into these issues, and throw themselves into rectifying concerns that have been plaguing Philippine sports. We are the only country in the world where sports are handled by private associations (National Sports Associations or NSAs), yet the budget is disbursed by the government (through the Philippine Sports Commission). This has, especially in the last few months, resulted in a very messy situation. On one hand, you have a heavy-handed, fractured PSC leadership. On the other, a POC that is bothered by internal politics, but still trying to clean the house. In short, nothing gets done.

Using the example of our own democracy, there are three branches that provide check and balance: the executive, legislative and judiciary. Without a third force to break the constant deadlock between the POC and PSC, sports will constantly be paralyzed. And our athletes will continue to suffer. Why were we so successful in the 2005 SEA Games? Because our athletes were getting better training abroad, and were not exposed to all the childish intramural among our sports officials.

Also, there is no agency monitoring the major issues weighing down sports. For example, the PSC cannot attack Pagcor for not remitting half of the legally-mandated National Sports Development Fund that it does not remit every month, for the simple reason that both are under the Office of the President. The result? To date, a shortfall of about P3 billion which could have gone to better training, nutrition and infrastructure for sports. Every year, depending on the state of mind of the sitting president and composition of Congress, the government’s budget for sports shrinks. Who’s watching issues like those? All our other lawmakers seem to have other fish to fry. And when the chairman of the sports committee of either house is not really interested or even competent in sports, nothing happens.

By nature, congressmen are devoted to their constituency, meaning they are tied down geographically. They have no interest in developing other parts of the country, except perhaps for their neighboring districts. For example, the congressmen of Quezon City would all benefit if they worked together for the betterment of the city they represent. Meanwhile, the party-list congressmen meant to be busy representing their sectors of society, looking out for social injustices against them.

So where does that leave sports?

“The National Government, through the years, has been taking our athletes for granted, has been unsupportive and insensitive in their needs... thus, our athletes, with passion and determination still shower our country with awards and recognitions, defeating developed and first-world countries...”

That was a quote from the Facebook page of PBA Party-list, the only accredited sports party-list. PBA Party-list was originally founded in 2007 with the help of boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and the endorsement of many sports legends, including several professional basketball players. Despite setbacks with their paperwork and only 20 days to campaign, the party still garnered over 73,000 votes in the last elections. That was an achievement in itself, considering the group’s lack of time and inexperience. This time around, they are better prepared.

“There are really a lot of issues hurting our athletes, not to mention corruption and lack of attention to sports,” admits Dave Chua, one of PBA Party-list’s founders. “Now, we are rallying support for the next elections. Things are getting worse. Our athletes fight for us. Let us fight for them.”

Aside from updating current legislation for sports, PBA Party-list can also mediate between the PSC and POC, and revive past efforts to elevate the government’s top sports post to a Cabinet-level position, with its own fixed budget and infrastructure. As of now, the chairman of the PSC only holds the rank of undersecretary.

“Basically, if the people see fit to help us become a contributor in Congress, we will also be able to help acquire funding for certain sports, and help those who really need it,” Chua adds. “And we can truly determine how to win an Olympic gold medal, produce more world champions, and simply give the athletes what they need. Right now, we are not doing what it takes to be the best in the world in sports.”