PSC working for the long term

The board of the Philippine Sports Commission is working double-time to ensure the long-term success of all its programs, and at the same time, undo the damage done by the previous administration. Every time a new board of political appointees comes in, the tendency is not to recognize the achievements and policies of the previous regime. The habit has been to rewrite history. They are hoping to change that attitude.

Unfortunately, the new administration’s officers found themselves working with a blank slate when it came to data on national athletes, programs and training pools. On one end, this was good, as it gave them a free hand to define qualifications for the next generation of national athletes. On the other hand, it made striving for continuity and recognizing national athletes extremely difficult. There was apparently no record-keeper within the agency, and no database of athletes.

“We couldn’t find any records of athletes and their achievements; who was the record-holder where,” explains commissioner Chito Loyzaga. “We practically had to start from scratch.”

The openness of the new PSC board has been quite refreshing for the various national sports associations, many of whom complained that they had difficulty after former chair Butch Ramirez was replaced with former Rep. Harry Angping. However, having said that, the PSC board is also very transparent when it comes to the economic realities. They have a budget of P 400 million to work wtih, and that is probably all that they will have to rely on for this year.

“We’ve asked the various NSAs to write us and list down what they will need for this year,” Loyzaga continues. “Given the financial constraints, we might not be able to give them everything that they ask for, but we will probably be able to give them some of the items. Our priority for this year is the Southeast Asian Games, and teams that will be competing in Asian-level competitions.”

One example Loyzaga gave was rugby. Since the Philippine Volcanoes are competing in various Asian tournaments this year such as the Hong Kong Sevens next week and the Asian Five Nations (A5N) tournament, they will get support. But the aid will be limited to the Sevens team since it will be an Olympic event in 2016. The Philippine Rugby Football Union understands this, and must now find sponsors for the 15 men’s and women’s teams.

The PSC is also making it clear to each NSA that they should include everything in their budget, even such mundane line items as electricity, rent, and other utilities. In that way, there will be no surprises when budgets are broken down. Also, another priority is the health of national athletes. What good is foreign exposure if they aren’t eating three square meals a day? They won’t have the strength to compete anywhere. Also, each NSA will now determine the criteria for their own athletes to compete in events like the SEA Games. Pressed for time last year, the Philippine Olympic Committee and PSC had criteria for athletes to the Asian Games. Some athletes who were qualified were not able to go.

The PSC, through com. Jolly Gomez, is also revisiting the Philippine National Games, as a yardstick for our national athletes, and an opportunity to find new talent, as well. The agency will support national athletes entered, while local governments and the NSAs will support other athletes who will compete in the more than two different sports slated to participate. The event, which will supposedly be televised, will also give the PSC board a starting point in assessing the capabilities of the current crop of elite athletes.

Of course, not everybody is happy with the situation, but the harsh realities remain. Financial resources are limited. Some sports are fortunate enough to have their own sponsors and revenue streams, and will not really need any government assistance. Football, for instance, has received huge windfalls from many prominent businessmen for their recent success. Basketball and boxing already have their patrons. But for the many sports that do not have that luxury, they must realize that what they consider needs may actually be merely a wish list that can wait for more affluent times.

Given this formula, team sports will have a more challenging time. They pose greater expense (particularly for travel), and less reward (on potential gold medal). Sports wherein individual athletes may win more than one gold medal (like swimming and athletics), will have a natural advantage. But this is not an iron-clad arrangement. Outstanding performances will always merit help from the government’s leading sports agency.

With the PNG, Southeast Asian Games, 2012 Olympics and World Championships in various sports, the hard-working team at the PSC will need all their wits about them to maintain the balance, political peace and teamwork necessary for the country’s sports program to finally run smoothly.