The Philippine Sports Commission has warned national sports associations that they will face famine should they not carry their own weight in the coming Southeast Asian Games two months from now. The warning is meant to send a signal that performance is the ultimate barometer of whether or not their sports are worthy of a chunk of the pie of government money allocated to the PSC.
In a statement by PSC chair Ritchie Garcia, he said the agency would slash funding by 50 percent to all NSAs that do not meet expectations in Indonesia. This will once again provide fodder for the argument surrounding which sports a country like the Philippines should support in international competition. In a workshop on sports as a partner in development in Cebu City Thursday, this writer said that the PSC would be strengthened by a change in system. If only to teach unrepentant and politically paralyzed NSAs a lesson, there should be no PSC support at all.
The PSC wants to exercise financial prudence in the use of the more or less P500 million annual budget for the training and maintenance of 784 national athletes of the 40 or so NSAs under the Philippine Olympic Committee. It has been difficult for the PSC to operate consistently since its budget fluctuates each year, depending on the overall attitude of Congress towards sports, and the passion of the Chief Executive. Government support for sports was abundant during the terms of presidents Ferdinand Marcos and Fidel Ramos, and in 2005, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo boosted our athletes to their greatest achievement in the SEA Games.
The Philippines is entered in 39 sports in the Indonesia SEA Games, and is projected to win a modest 50 to 60 gold medals, good for fifth or sixth place in the 11-nation competition, and a far cry from the spectacular performances of 2005 and 1991. The SEA Games is the lowest international competition Filipino athletes participate in.
In the PSC’s State of Philippine Sports Report to all national sports associations, Garcia revealed the decision to cut financial assistance to non-performing NSAs, in keeping with the Malacañang directive to concentrate on sports where Filipinos excel and preferably Olympic disciplines, and be more judicious in using public funds.
As always, the bone of contention is the fact that the Philippines has yet to capture its first Olympic gold medal despite the creation of the PSC in 1990. That consistent shortfall is largely blamed on the misuse of government resources, incessant politics among sports officials, and lack of management skill of appointed government sports officials.
Rightly or wrongly, these are lingering issues in sports which are now the target of the national policy to pursue a straight and narrow path, or in the vernacular “matuwid na daan”. And this means purging the ranks of unqualified government officials assigned to sports, more efficient allocation of resources, and establishing proper accountability and focusing on performance-based decisions making. Other good plans like the talent identification program were scrapped by subsequent appointees who preferred their own ideas, regardless of the effectivity of existing plans.
With the new PSC plan, NSAs that do not produce positive results will receive only half of their 2011 budget in 2012, while those who perform can even increase their allocation. The PSC identified 18 sports where the country expects good performance. It will keep a close watch on these sports.
Instead of crying government intervention, the affected NSAs should just look at what they’re doing wrong, or even look for private sponsors. It’s a chicken and egg situation for them. Would they be able to find benefactors if they are non-performing in the first place?
The bottomline is this: if the NSAs were all doing their jobs, they won’t have to worry when they leave for Indonesia. They’ll know that their budgets will be safe.