THE results of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games that starts in 16 days in Cambodia will determine how much in terms of financial assistance national sports associations (NSAs) could receive in the immediate future from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
PSC Chairman Richard Bachmann made the declaration on Tuesday stressing that under his watch, the government sports funding agency will use a different approach in allocating funds for close to 70 NSAs under its care.
“How do you allocate the budget for all these sports? In 2018 and 2019, we only had 40 NSAs. Right now we have 70 and the budget is basically the same,” Bachmann said in the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
The PSC sources its funds from general appropriations for its operations and the National Sports Development Fund for assistance to NSAs and other organizations.
The GAA for this year was pegged at P2.3 billion, most of which are intended for participation in major international and the country’s co-hosting of the FIBA 2023 World Cup later this year. The NSDF, on the other hand, draws support primarily from the income of government casinos that are set roughly at P100 million a month.
Bachmann said the PSC will no longer rely solely on historical data (past performances) as it evaluates and approves the NSAs budget requests through a matrix designed by his think tank.
“Under the matrix, there will be certain points for certain criteria for Olympic sports and non-Olympic sports,” he said. “Are the NSAs self-sufficient because some of them have sponsors? For individual and team sports, there will be certain points.”
“And for medals in the Olympics, Asian Games or SEA Games there will be certain points. Do they have good governance, grassroots? They earn certain points totaling 100 percent,” Bachmann added in the forum presented by San Miguel Corp., PSC, Milo, Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
He said that for NSAs which want bigger financial assistance from the government, they have to deliver medals especially in the international arena.
“They have to perform. If they perform they get more money from the (overall PSC) budget for next year,” he said.
Bachmann said the PSC is now focused on the Cambodia SEA Games scheduled May 5 to 17 but refused to make any medal projection.
“I don’t want to project. The PSC is here trying to take care of the athletes and their allowances and just to support them,” he said. “If you were fourth last year, maybe you can improve this year. And our athletes have been winning abroad. Hopefully that carries over to Cambodia.”
Bachmann said he and his four commissioners will be in Cambodia to support the 840-athlete delegation.
A send off party for Team Philippines, meanwhile, is set on April 24 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City with no less than President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos gracing the event.