Victory for Philippine sports

MANILA, Philippines — It took eight years of waiting for a resolution to former Pampanga congressman and vice governor Yeng Guiao’s case before the Supreme Court to uphold the law mandating PAGCOR to remit five percent of gross revenues and PCSO 30 percent of six sweepstakes and lottery draws to the Philippine Sports Commission.

Guiao never lost hope that someday, the High Tribunal would rule in the interest of Philippine sports. Apparently, the unanimous decision on a 15-0 vote was made last May and announced only last Aug. 22. Guiao said there is a 15-day grace period within which an appeal for reconsideration may be registered but from what he knows, nothing has been filed at the moment.

Under RA 6847, PAGCOR is required to remit not only five percent of gross gaming revenues but also proceeds from sale of stamps and three percent of taxes collected from imported athletic equipment. PCSO is also ordered to remit 30 percent of taxes on horse races during special holidays. The reckoning period is from 1993 for PAGCOR and 2006 for PCSO. Guiao estimated back remittances to amount to at least P25 billion.

“It’s a windfall for Philippine sports,” said Guiao who coaches Rain or Shine in the PBA. “I expect the back remittances will be negotiated but I think PSC should begin receiving what is due on a yearly basis. I understand PSC now receives about P150 million a month from PAGCOR.” For the first half of this year, PAGCOR reported gross revenues of P194.7 billion. At the same rate, PAGCOR would earn P389.4 billion by year-end with PSC receiving P19.5 billion or five percent. The monthly allocation to PSC would then jump to P1.6 billion.

Guiao said a large portion of the funds should be channeled to support programs for a healthy citizenry. “We can now build more stadiums for everyone to play in and parks where people can walk around or jog or do Zumba,” he said. “We can put athletes and coaches to school in a National Academy of Sports where they earn degrees and plan for their future. We can push for extensive grassroots development and set up regional training centers. Then there are elite athletes to support for overseas training with expert coaches from abroad, overseas competitions and overseas exposure since NSAs rely on PSC for funding.”

The immediate challenge is to bring in the funds to PSC and the next challenge is to make sure whatever is remitted is dispensed judiciously, fairly, purposefully and with the highest level of transparency. Guiao said the decision was well worth the long wait and it couldn’t have happened without the hard work of pro bono lawyer Jun Guzman. “Parang hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala kasi the odds were really stacked against us,” he said. “I knew we were standing on solid, legal and moral grounds, ‘yun lang ang nagpalakas ng loob ko. I’d like to thank the Supreme Court for doing justice to Philippine sports.”