FROM a little over 30 sports in 1990, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) family has grown to 71 national sports associations (NSAs) that chairman William Ramirez wanted to be happy all the time.
And with the Covid-19 pandemic still sowing havoc everywhere, Ramirez said the PSC will remain resilient especially in an Olympic and Southeast Asian Games year.
“We are ready!” Ramirez told an online news conference with the sports media on Monday, addressing a question on how the PSC will face the next two months when more than a dozen athletes try to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and further after that when 626 others start prepping for the 31st Hanoi SEA Games.
Ramirez affirmed the PSC’s commitment to fund the Tokyo Olympics campaign pegged at P250 million and the SEA Games bid at P200 million.
So far, seven Filipinos—boxers Eumir Felix Marcial, Irish Magno, Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz and gymnast Carlos Yulo—have qualified for Tokyo.
“The PSC is always committed to support our Olympic campaign with a very strong hope of winning our country’s first gold medal in the Games,” Ramirez said. “And we are confident there will be more athletes who would qualify for Tokyo.”
“We are always ready to support our athletes despite these tough challenges,” he said. “We have the budget.”
The PSC flock, meanwhile, has increased to 71 NSAs and other organizations, double the former figure of 35 organizations, all of which were traditional Olympic sports—when the PSC was established in 1990.
“This will be one of the problems the PSC will encounter in the years to come as to how we rationally allocate our budget,” PSC Executive Director Atty. Guillermo Iroy told the same virtual news conference.
Of the 71 organizations, 51 are regular members of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), 10 are association and 10 are recognized members. “The existing NSAs right now are doubled than the previous numbers. So that’s one of the major concerns the PSC will soon have to face,” added Iroy, who was also joined by PSC National Team Director Marc Velasco in the news conference.
Iroy said that despite the increase in the number of organizations which will be funded, the PSC will always find ways to fuilfill its commitment.
“When you speak of funds, there can never be enough for the requirements of the NSAs,” Iroy said. “We always look for sources to ensure that we have enough funds.”
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