Cayetano allots P5M to boost PSC program

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Sports Commission’s grassroots programs for the year got a boost as the agency will be getting an extra P5 million from Sen. Pia Cayetano.

“This P5-million will go a long way in our objective of reaching many kids throughout the country and identifying talents,” PSC chairman Richie Garcia told The STAR.

Herself into sports, Cayetano has included the item “Financial Assistance to Athletes (national sports for all – grassroots centerpiece program)” in her office’s 2012 budget and she informed the PSC yesterday that this was already approved by the Department of Budget and Management.

In a letter to Garcia, Cayetano, through her chief of staff Denya Gracia Uy-Anastacio, sent a copy of the Special Allotment and Release Order (SARO) No. B-11-01953.

She asked the sports body to “kindly update our office regarding the implementation of the said project and upon completion, send us documentation (report, pictures, etc.) for our record purposes.”

“We’ll make sure it will be spread out among our mass-based, grassroots programs, like Batang Pinoy and Palarong Pambansa, of which we are now partners with the DepEd,” Garcia said.

The PSC has been earmarked P 178,273,000 from Republic Act No. 10155 or the 2012 national budget, of which only P14,262,000 will go to National Sports for All – Grassroots Centerpiece program.

Augmenting it with funding from savings and remittances from state-run casinos, among other sources, the agency has penciled a loaded slate for mass-based sports/grassroots development projects this year, like the Batang Pinoy, Palaro, Philippine National Games, AFP Olympics, University Games, and ChEd Games.