The PSC's war

July will mark the official turnover to the new government, and the termination of all previous government appointees. Hopefully, the Philippine Sports Commission will be one of the agencies to be given weight by the incoming administration, as much weight – we hope – as those who are already proposing to be part of it. It will be no easy task, especially since the term “at the leisure of the President” has meant instability and lack of continuity in the past. What lies ahead for the next chairman and commissioners?

Battle for budget. The past few years have seen the agency’s budget shrink, with congress prioritizing other projects and needs of the country. Rightly or wrongly, sports has taken a back seat to more pressing matters, even though it has enjoyed much larger budgets in past administrations. From the General Appropriations Act to the National Sports Development Fund, the PSC has not been getting enough to truly make meaningful changes in infrastructure. Besides, the nation’s sports program really needs a new sports complex, and it doesn’t have to be in Metro Manila. The battle for budget is one the PSC has been losing, save for the influence of government or private patrons.

Prioritizing sports. Having been involved in as many sports as I have, it pains me to say that there really isn’t enough to go around for all sports. The PSC has to come up with a comprehensive, intelligent and fair means to partition funding to all sports under its umbrella. Obviously, not everyone is going to be happy, unless the agency enlists the help of multinational corporations and gives them tax incentives or other perks for supporting individual sports. Unless that happens, by default, we may end up prioritizing sports that would have the most impact on the Olympic program or Asian Games as our basis. In sports like rugby, tournaments are run on the concept of promotion and demotion. Sports that do well should get more. Those that don’t will have to fend for themselves until they perform better.

 Cooperation with the POC and NSAs. There is no other way around it, the PSC, like the IOC, needs the various national federations to harness athletes for the national pools and national teams. The strength of the relationship is key to the success of any plans for international competition. It is incumbent for the two to work together in crafting an unbiased, workable plan for the medium and long term. Six years is plenty of time to build a good working relationship, if we start now.

 Long-term development. Because of the tenuous tenure of its board members, the programs of the PSC are often abrogated before they can really bear fruit. One set of commissioners discontinues or ignores the programs of its predecessors. The next board would be visionary in drafting an agreement that certain programs would be provided for in the long term. Then again, future funds will be approved by future chairman and commissioners. But if we are truly to rise as a sports power, this is what needs to be done.

 New facilities. This can be done piecemeal or wholesale, depending on congress or a donor with deep pockets. It has been a proven drawback to many sports to be in Metro Manila. First of all, there are many distractions in the big city. Athletes can just cross the street or hop a jeepney from Rizal Memorial Sports Complex or even the PhilSports complex, and be in a mall. But, as proven by the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, having them train in isolation removes them from politics, drama and other problems that hold them back from concentrating on their sports and only their sports. I would recommend that they put up a school and livelihood program in the new sports center, to fill in the rest of the time spent there. Besides, the athletes will benefit greatly from having everything in one place. Being in a training facility full-time will give them the luxury to do extra training whenever they feel like it.

 Strengthening regional offices. Like any government agency, the PSC has branches in major cities around the country. But are they being maximized? How big is their contribution to the overall strength of our sports program? Furthermore, regional offices can coordinate with the police and armed forces branches in their areas, which also provide many outstanding athletes, particularly in athletics, boxing and other contact sports. Decentralizing the work will also give the agency greater reach.

 Talent identification. The revival of this program could make the most impact on the future of the country’s sports program. Sports superpowers like China have government instruments in place, and massive sports complexes in major cities to harness their athletic talent. It has to start early, though. Student-athletes can stay with host families if there is a lack of proper child-care facilities. They have to be introduced to the system so as not to waste their talent. Some NSAs already have athletes as young as six years old. They will serve their sport for a long time if we take care of them early.

 Overseas recruitment. Inter-agency cooperation with the Department of Foreign Affairs can aid in the search for talented Fil-foreigners. It’s already being done in basketball, boxing, swimming and a handful of other sports. Filipinos abroad would be more than glad to have their children wear Philippine colors. If other countries can recruit our child athletes away from us, it’s about time we returned the favor. There is an overabundance of Filipino talent all over the world, some even competing for countries like the US, from sport stacking to snow boarding. They can have dual citizenship and compete for their mother country, too.

 Research and innovation. How much knowledge are we putting in to our sports programs? How close is the PSC to knowledge bases in the US, Australia, Germany, and so on? Are Filipino sports scientists involved in the development of our training programs for elite athletes? The PSC must have a conduit, an officer or panel tasked with bridging the knowledge gap with other countries. The International Olympic Committee and US Olympic Training Center alone would be more than willing to share their vast knowledge base with a developing country like the Philippines.

 It sounds like a lot of work, but a little government muscle and a lot of political will (and some optimism) could get the job done.

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The 12th NCR Muaythai Tournament of the Muaythai Association of the Philippines will be held on May 23, at the Makati Coliseum ng Bayan. Juniors competition will be held from 2 to 4 p.m., to be followed by senior competition.