House vows Increased budget for sports

MANILA, Philippines — Following the Philippines’ historic medal finish in the Tokyo Olympics with one bronze, two silver and the country’s first gold in 97 years, leaders in Congress gave assurance yesterday that the budget for sports next year will increase substantially.

“Of course, the tax law is good, but we need to invest in our athletes before they win. That’s the way to get more podium finishes. They need help during training, not after they win,” Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House ways and means committee, said.

“So, of course it makes a difference, and it really makes the case for strong investment in our athletes,” he added.

Salceda credited the Duterte administration’s investment in the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) for helping carry the country’s athletes to the Olympic podium, calling it a “game changer.”

“The administration really upped the game on this front,” he said, citing the POC’s P944-million budget this year which is four times bigger than in past Olympic years.

“Under past presidents, we budgeted only around P230 to P260 million to the POC during Olympics. Certainly, this was the case during the past two administrations. In fact, even GMA gave higher budgets to the POC than under P-Noy,” Salceda said, referring to past presidents Gloria Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III.

House officials led by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, Majority Leader Martin Romualdez and Deputy Speakers Mikee Romero and Rufus Rodriguez extended their warmest congratulations to the Filipino athletes who won in Tokyo.

Earlier, House Resolution 1981 – introduced by Velasco, Romualdez and Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano – was adopted by the lower chamber to institutionalize the Congressional Medal of Excellence for national athletes who win a gold medal in the Olympics.

Romero, himself an athlete, personally handed over a check for P3 million as incentive to gold medal winner Hidilyn Diaz. He also promised silver medalist Nesthy Petecio P2 million as soon as the boxer returns from Japan.

“It’s an expression of our appreciation for the pride and honor they have brought to the country, and their sacrifices amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which made their victory doubly hard to achieve,” the president of the Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc. stressed.

For his part, Rodriguez filed a resolution urging the House to commend and congratulate silver medalist in boxing Carlo Paalam, who also hails from the lawmaker’s hometown of Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao.

“Paalam has brought pride and joy to the Philippines,” he stated in his resolution, noting the boxer’s rise from being a scavenger in Cagayan de Oro City to a world-class athlete.

Praises from Palace

Yesterday, Malacañang also congratulated all the Filipino athletes who participated in the quadrennial games, calling this Philippine delegation the “best performing one in our history.”

Chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo said the Philippine delegation of 19 athletes showed that more than 20 percent of them could achieve a podium finish.

“This, aside from others who were able to break our country’s records in the sport which they participated in,” Panelo said in a statement.

He particularly praised weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, whom he had included in the so-called “oust Duterte matrix” in 2019, for clinching the country’s first-ever Olympic gold this year. Earlier, Diaz said she had forgiven Panelo over that unfounded accusation.

The presidential adviser also congratulated Petecio and Paalam, as well as, fellow boxer Eumir Marcial for clinching the bronze. “Truly, boxing is one of the sports Filipinos greatly excel in,” he said.

The Palace likewise commended golfers Juvic Pagunsan, Yuka Saso and Bianca Pagdanganan as well as pole vaulter EJ Obiena, gymnast Carlos Yulo and skateboarder Margielyn Didal.

PAGCOR support

Joining the celebration is the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), one of the main funding sources of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

From 2016 up to June 2021, the state-run gaming firm remitted a total of P7.37 billion to the PSC.

Pagcor chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo said the agency believes in the talent, determination and grit of Filipino athletes, keeping the firm committed to its mandate to support them by virtue of Republic Acts 6847 (which created the PSC) and 10699 (National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act).

As such, Pagcor contributed P276.23 million as awards to athlete-medalists; P842.5 million to refurbish key sports structures; P1 billion for the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in 2019, among others.

Even with the pandemic, it remitted P712.38 million to the PSC in 2020 and P354.04 million in the first half of 2021.

Caritas fund

Caritas Philippines, in honor of all the Filipino athletes who inspired the nation during their stint in the Olympics, has set up a P66.5 million educational assistance fund for academically challenged junior high school students.

Fr. Antonio Labiao, executive secretary of Caritas, explained that the educational assistance covers support to online learning and other school fees, tutorial services and training.

“As part of our Alay Kapwa Legacy Stewardship Program, we aim to provide at least 525 impoverished children with equal access to primary and secondary education, and skills enhancement opportunities. We need to invest in the education of our youth if we want more gold medals, better government and next-generation leaders,” Kidapawan Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, Caritas national director, said.

“At a time when the struggle is real for the 45 percent of Filipinos who consider themselves borderline food-poor, our athletes have become our beacons of hope and source of inspiration,” Bagaforo said. – Helen Flores, Rainier Allan Ronda, Evelyn Macairan