Duterte’s help sought to stop RMSC sale

MANILA, Philippines - Leaders of the national sports associations (NSAs) opposing plans to sell the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex will seek the help of President Duterte in their efforts to save the 83-year-old facility.

Putting premium on the RMSC’s rich history and heritage as well as functionality, the NSA officials have drafted and signed a petition asking Duterte to step in and stop its planned sale. The Philippine Sports Commission, an agency under the Office of the President, serves as the administrator of Manila City-owned RSMC.

“On behalf of our members and athletes, we appeal on your good conscience, to halt any and all plans to tear down the RMSC to make way for commercial developments,” the petition said.

According to boxing association Ed Picson and sepak takraw president Karen Tanchanco Caballero, over 20 NSA executives have already signed the petition as of yesterday afternoon and they expect more to affix their signatures.

Picson and Tanchanco, along with Rep. Monsour del Rosario of taekwondo, Dave Carter of judo, Raymund Lee Reyes of karatedo, and Cynthia Carrion of gymnastics, sat down yesterday with Lilian Manahan of Heritage Conservation Society-International Council for Monuments and Sites to discuss their action.

The petitioners appealed to give importance on RMSC’s historical value and heritage and batted for its preservation and rehabilitation instead.

“The RMSC is a cultural and architectural treasure, which Filipino athletes, sports historians and heritage conservationists hold sacred. It is the only one of a few functional and rare Art Deco coliseums in the world,” they said.

They also cited how the RMSC served as home of the Filipino athlete, past and present who have made tremendous sacrifices to represent and bring honor to the country in sporting competitions.”

“Tearing it down will be another egregious example of the utter disregard for a historic sports landmark,” they said, stressing how RMSC witnessed the golden age of Philippine Sports and even hosted events that have become “indelible pieces of the sporting and cultural lore” including the 1934 Far Eastern Games, 1954 Asian Games and the New York Yankees’ Tour highlighted by the homeruns of Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

“We implore the government to shun calls of business to put the RMSC under the chopping block of progress. The RMSC is a national heritage that cannot be priced in economic terms as it gives Philippine sports its unique identity and history.

“Its role in Phl sports has transformed it into a symbol of the Filipinos’ victories and defeats in various sports disciplines. It is the badge of honor every athlete who has played there proudly carries,” they said.

The group, though, conceded that RMSC is in bad shape.

“While the RMSC is in a state of disrepair, it is not a reason to tear it down. It is a functional property,” they said, noting that national mainstays in 15 sports still train there.

“Unless we are provided a new and accessible state-of-the-art sports complex, our athletes can’t afford to lose the RMSC as their training facility. For the sake of Phl sports and our athletes, the RMSC must be preserved and restored and its facilities vastly improved to become at par with global standards,” they said.

Preserving and renovating the RMSC as a public sports facility, they explained, “will give young people a venue to venture into sports” which they said is “a worthwhile pursuit that complements the President’s vision of a drug-free metropolis.”

They appealed to Duterte and the Philippine Sports Commission to “build an alternative sports complex within Metro Manila at par with international standards to give access to athletes who are also students in Metro Manila universities.”