PSC asks athletes to tighten belts

Philippine Sports Commission chair William "Butch" Ramirez asked the national athletes to be strong amidst financial difficulties the sports agency is facing as Congress is set to allot it a measly P28 million for this year.

Ramirez, however, remained optimistic and promised the athletes that the PSC would do its best in drawing private sector support and implementing additional revenue-generating measures.

"He (Ramirez) wants us to sacrifice a little bit more while they work things out," said Joy Lanting, a member of the softball squad that won the gold medal in December’s 23rd Southeast Asian Games and the secretary of the athletes commission.

"He promised us that the PSC’s top priority are the athletes and he would do anything to protect our interest," she added.

Ramirez spoke last Friday before some 40 representatives of various national teams preparing for the 2006 Asian Games slated Dec. 1-15 in Doha, Qatar. The Davao-based educator also met with the coaches hours earlier to also address their needs.

Monthly allowances and dormitories were the concerns voiced by the athletes.

Gold medal winners in the last SEA Games received their allowances only for the month of January and will receive the rest late this month along with their March allowance.

Class A athletes receive a monthly allowance of P8,000, Class B P6,000 and training pool members P4,000 excluding their meal allowance.

The rest — non-SEAG winners — will have to wait a little longer.

Athletes have also started to return to their dormitories with renovations of their quarters at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and ULTRA nearly complete.

Ramirez is currently appealing to Congress to at least maintain the P104 million the agency received last year from the General Appropriations, not the P28 million recommended by the Department of Budget and Management.