Angping: PSC chief must have fixed term

MANILA, Philippines - Having been at the helm of the Philippine Sports Commission for 18 months, outgoing PSC chairman Harry Angping sees the need for a legislative measure in improving the structure of the government sports agency.

A former congressman from Manila himself, Angping recommended amendments to Republic Act 6847 or the PSC law, particularly giving the chairman a fixed four-year term and reducing the composition of the PSC commissioners from four to two.

“The chairman should have a fixed term of four years, following the Olympic cycle, with the possibility of reappointment. This way, he will have a continuous program for two Southeast Asian Games, one Asian Games and one Olympic Games (for one term),” Angping said during Tuesday’s PSA Forum.

“If he delivers (in those four years), he can be reappointed and if he doesn’t, we can give the job to someone else,” he added.

Under the present set-up, the PSC chairman and his four commissioners serve on a co-terminous basis with the President, practically creating a vacuum in program continuity everytime there’s a change.

In Angping’s case, he was appointed to the agency’s top post in 2009 and is set to relinquish his position, along with commissioners Eric Loretizo, Jose Mundo, Akiko Thomson and Fr. Vicente Uy, as soon as President Noynoy Aquino taps a new set of officials or re-appoint them.

Angping likewise feels the need to “streamline” the board.

“There should only be two commissioners, one in charge of finance and one to handle operations,” he said.

The PSC law has been in effect since 1990 and has not been amended since.

Aside from Angping, some sectors have also batted for revising certain provisions of RA 6847, including Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose Cojuangco Jr.

Cojuangco, whose camp has had a row with Angping over key sports policies, has himself stressed the need to amend the PSC law, asking the Olympic body be given a say in making the list of nominees for chairman and commissioners from which the President will choose.

Former Sen. Robert Jaworski Sr., who is reportedly a hot candidate as Angping’s successor, had even filed a bill seeking to abolish the PSC and create a new sports body, the Philippine Sports Authority, during his stint at the Senate.