PSC saving for rainy days ahead, boasts of fat deposits

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Sports Commission has enough money in the bank to embark on a massive infrastructure program this year.

PSC chairman Richie Garcia said the government agency is just wrapping up the bidding for the infrastructure projects that could amount to P200 million.

“The bidding is taking some time because we want to make sure that they are all advantageous to the government. We are making sure we get to the lowest bidders,” he said.

First off, according to Garcia, is the conversion of the football and baseball fields at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex into artificial and all-weather turfs based on international standards.

Garcia said each turf could cost as much as P20 million. A similar project is being eyed for the Philsports Arena track oval in Pasig.

The bowling center at the historic RMSC will also be renovated and on the second floor of the building the new table tennis training quarters will be built.

The athletes’ quarters at the RMSC, Philsports and Teachers Camp in Baguio City will also be spruced up to make it more pleasing and comfortable for the athletes.

Work is going on at some parts of the PSC administrative building which is now being equipped with an elevator.

Garcia said the PSC has enough money in the bank to do all these. But it doesn’t mean it will be bone-dry after the completion of all the projects.

“We are making sure that we have enough savings left to cover for the needs of our athletes in case the going gets tough,” said Garcia.

Since Garcia took over the top PSC post in 2010, he and his commissioners, Jolly Gomez, Buddy Andrada, Akiko Thomson and recently Iggy Clavecilla, had enforced positive changes.

The PSC got rid of unfavorable contracts for the janitorial and security services, and cut down on the number of consultants and contractual employees with almost redundant roles.

Through rentals of the different venues for certain events, the PSC also saved a lot of money. At the same time, the PSC has made moves to increase the allowances of the athletes and their coaches.

Garcia said it’s good to have enough money in the bank because of the possible slide in the monthly remittance from the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor).

The government-owned Pagcor is the PSC’s biggest benefactor because it remits a certain portion of its monthly casino earnings or roughly P40 million a month to the PSC.

But Garcia noted that the recent entry of private casino operators may have an effect on the Pagcor earnings. If that happens, then the PSC automatically gets less.

“I’m a little worried about that but when I recently spoke to Pagcor officials we were told that they are now making a bigger presence in the provinces which means more income,” said Garcia.

“Mabuti na yung may savings ka. We are here saving government money here,” he said.