PNG mulled to be yearly PSC bash

MANILA, Philippines - The coming Philippine National Games in Negros Occidental, which will form one of the bases for selecting the delegates to the Southeast Asian Games and also some sort of fund-raiser for the team, will not be a one-off deal, Philippine Sports commissioner Jose Luis Gomez said yesterday.

“The PNG is something we intend to do each and every year, whether there’s a SEA Games or not, as our way of discovering talents, and also bringing sports to the people,” Gomez said during the PSA Forum. 

Slated May 22-29 in four cities in Negros Occidental, the P30-million PNG is designed to complement this year’s SEAG preparations, providing the venue for aspirants to move closer to their SEAG dreams and helping raise funding for the trip along the way.

“It will definitely serve as preparation for the SEA Games. This will be the first test for the national athletes and in the next five months, many of them will either be competing or training locally and internationally to improve their records,” Gomez said.

The PSC has set a budget of P40 million for the PNG, raising about half of it from private sponsors like Smart, P & G, Scratch It Go for Gold, Standard Insurance, Gatorade, Negros Navigation, Super Ferry, Zest Air, Accel and Bodivance.

“We have a budget of P40 million but we’re trying to keep our cost down to P30 million. The savings will go to other activities like the SEA Games (campaign) or Batang Pinoy,” Gomez said.

The PSC has allocated P30 million for the actual SEAG participation but would need a whole lot more if the delegation bloats to 700 or 800.

A total of 383 events in 35 sports will be played in the PNG, with members of the national team and national pool required to compete.

“Outstanding performers outside the Phl team/pool will be strongly considered for inclusion in the elite roster,” Gomez noted.