P186M PSC budget OK’d for 2015

MANILA, Philippines - Whatever the final outcome in Incheon is, the Philippines Sports Commission already has an idea how much its budget for 2015 from Congress will be.

Commissioner Buddy Andrada yesterday said that in last Friday’s congressional hearing, a budget of P186 million has been approved for the PSC next year.

“That’s what Congress wants to give us,” said Andrada, who represented the PSC in the hearing together with fellow commissioner Iggy Clavecilla.

The PSC chairman, Richie Garcia, is in Incheon, South Korea as chef-de-mission of the Philippine contingent to the 17th Asian Games.

Andrada, former president of the Philippine Lawn Tennis Association, said the budget hearing that started late in the afternoon lasted until the wee hours of the morning.

“I was there until three in the morning,” he said.

The budget approved by Congress is slightly higher than what the Senate wants for the PSC for 2015, which is P183 million. Andrada said the final figure will be decided by the bicameral body.

“We have the Singapore SEA Games next year, and for this alone the PSC will spend at least P30 million,” said Andrada.

The budget from Congress is also known as the General Appropriations Act, and the money given to the PSC is spent mostly on the PSC’s day-to-day operations.

It’s the money spent on the salaries of PSC officials and employees, grassroots programs and infrastructure.

The main bulk of the PSC budget, known as the National Sports Development Fund, amounts to at least P400 million a year, and represents the donations from government corporations like Pagcor.

The PSC spends the NSDF on the equipment, training (both local and foreign) and monthly allowances of all athletes from the close to 50 NSAs (national sports associations), including their coaches.

Over the years, the PSC budget has considerably increased, from the P70 million in 2005, when the country successfully hosted the SEA Games, and the measly P27 million in 2006.