Clarification

To give way to the 7th Cheling Garcia Memorial Tournament set today at Cebu Country Club, Alta Vista Golf and Country Club has rescheduled its August monthly medal to tomorrow.

The format will still be a two-man team event.

See you tomorrow then.

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Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Richie Garcia met the Cebu media yesterday to clarify matters on the status of the Philippine dragon boat team that won medals in Florida.

Chairman Richie said that the PSC cannot just give assistance or recognition to the team because it has refused to join the National Sport Association that has been identified by the Philippine Olympic Committee as the umbrella organization for dragon boat racing.

While it is true that dragon boat racing has its own international organization, this is not also recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the umbrella organization for all national Olympic movements.

It is unfortunate that the matter has gone out of hand and the real issues are lost in the fracas.

While the top PSC official has personally recognized the victory of the dragon boat team, he cannot use the government funds, because he could end up in trouble due to the strict rules of the Commission on Audit.

One case in point that Chairman Richie mentioned is four-time Bowling World Cup champion Paeng Nepumuceno.

Paeng is not only a national star in the sport, he is a worldwide hero, but he never got a single centavo from government.

The reason is that the law governing the giving of incentives is very clear that only those who win in world championships that are held once every four years can qualify for such.

The Bowling World Cup is an annual event, which disqualified Paeng from getting incentives from the PSC.

Unless the law is amended, the hands of the country’s sporting officials are tied.

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There is also the case of people complaining that they are not getting support from government for their effort to promote sports.

Many of those who complain did not even bother to ask for assistance but are hoping to get some because they had their event publicized.

Unfortunately, the government doesn’t work that way. This is not only the case for the PSC, but also for the Cebu City Sports Commission and other sports agencies of local government units.

There are also those who treat government like an automated teller machine. When they need money, they send a request and expect to be given what they ask for.

Even the ATM doesn’t work that way, you need enough funds in your account to withdraw what you want.

While we need more people to help, there needs to be proper coordination between the government and the private sector so we can attain the goals we are aiming for.

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MILESTONES: Happy birthday greetings to Alita Pulga of the LTO, Chris Evert Lato, Linette Ramos, Mariel Veloso, Sheryl Davide-Ureta, and Vic Reyes, who are all turning a year older today.

Advance greetings go to tomorrow’s birthday celebrants like Uncle Jose ‘Joe’ Miranda, Jr., Angel ‘Tito’ de la Merced of IPI, and Renee Villasin-Pimentel, who are celebrating tomorrow.

More power to all of you!