‘When elephants fight’

Rep. Monico Puentevella speaks from the heart, especially when it comes to sports. A first-term congressman from Bacolod, Puentevella has been a champion tennis player, basketball star for the De La Salle Green Archers, and singing champion. This combination gives him a particularly loud and passionate voice when it comes to sports.

In an interview with The Star, Puentevella decried the possibility that the Palarong Pambansa may once again not push through this year. The budget has not been released, and already, time is running short. Last year, if not for the timely involvement of Pres. Gloria Arroyo, the Games would not have pushed through at all. And this is just a small reflection of the bigger picture.

"We want to see medals in the Olympics, but let’s be honest: sports right now doesn’t even have one percent of the national budget," the chairman of the House Committee on Youth and Sports elaborates. "So if we don’t have the ammunition to play, pity our athletes who don’t go anywhere."

Puentevella’s main goal this year is to complete work on a Cabinet position for sports. It is only at this level that he believes sports will get the support it richly deserves. There is no other way for it to muster the necessary financial and logistical resources to make us a world power in sport.

"Actually, the main and most essential bill we’re trying to establish is the Department for Youth and Sports primarily to make sports a priority. We do not have the needed attention, the needed budget."

However, the creation of this new department will necessitate the merging of the Philippine Sports Commission and the National Youth Commission. Thus, the new Secretary of Youth and Sports will have to be someone acceptable to both sectors, young but able to earn the respect of his peers in the executive branch.

Unfortunately, Puentevella wails, the Department of Budget cannot spare more than a pittance. Sports is considered a luxury when lined up against the military, educational and health benefits of the nation, particularly when there is armed conflict in Mindanao. However, being a more sports-minded nation would help alleviate a lot of those burdens. Criminality, in particular, will decline.

"In sports, if you’re at the bottom, then your economy is also way down. How much do we spend on drug rehabilitation? At the grassroots level, many of these patients shouldn’t even be there. If there are no sports or games, they will go to the streets, then it becomes the government’s problem when they get sick or create problems. But if these children could get involved in sports, they would become good citizens and benefit the country."

Though he makes no excuses for the declining performance of our athletes (ironically taking place since the inception of the Philippine Sports Commission), there is one problem the active lawmaker has spotted. It is the big vacuum in the tertiary level of the Palarong Pambansa. Once the athletes get to the college level, if they are not funneled into the UAAP, NCAA or similar college leagues, they are lost to sports, forever. This would not be so if local governments were more active in promoting sports.

"Aside from strengthening the local government units, probably the political bickering between the POC and the PSC can also lessen and stop. Because when elephants fight, it is the grass below that is trampled. The people at the top are the ones fighting, and the small fry are suffering."

He also believes the 2005 SEA Games is a disaster waiting to happen.

"I don’t see any budget right now on the horizon with which we can host the Games. Rizal Memorial has been neglected and repairing it will cost you billions. If we want to promote sports, let’s have one beautiful sports complex, then let’s have one. God helps us if we want to host the Southeast Asian Games now."

As always, Congressman Monico has a well-thought out opinion on everything in relation to sport. One of his more controversial (but acceptable) premises: basketball has become a stumbling block to other sports’ development.

More on that in a succeeding column.

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Catch this week’s episode of The Basketball Show over IBC-13 at 4 p.m. We’ll have a summary of the PBA Annual Draft, the first Pre-Draft Camp, up close interviews with Rob Duat, the Alas brothers, Romel Adducul and John Ferriols, and great plays from the PBL. The Basketball Show is sponsored by Adidas, Columbia Foods International, Aqua Sweet purified drinking water, Accel sports gear, Red Horse Extra Strong Beer and Umbro.

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