Pagcor remits contribution for athletes' social amelioration aid

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation recently announced it has already remitted to the Philippine Sports Commission its monthly budget for the months of February and March, ensuring there will be money for all national athletes and coaches in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This came a few days after the PSC stated that the money it intended for the implementation of the government’s Social Amelioration Program or SAP for all members of the Philippine team will come from its remaining funds after Pagcor placed its monthly allocation on hold.

“The Pagcor wishes to clarify that it just remitted P150.75 million to PSC on March 31, 2020,” it said in a press statement. “This amount represents the state-gaming agency’s mandated contribution to PSC for the month of February, 2020.

“Likewise, Pagcor has already released P99.42 million for its mandated contributions to PSC for the month of March. PSC, however, has not yet claimed the check,” it added.

All in all, Pagcor had already coughed up P409.01 million to the government’s sports-funding agency in the first quarter of this year alone.

Understandably, Pagcor said the amount decreased by 4.7% this year due to lower revenues brought about by the suspension of all gaming operations in the country amid the global health scare.

Last year, the total PSC share remitted by Pagcor reached P1.79 billion, excluding the P842 million grants used for the rehabilitation of the Philsports Complex in Pasig and the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.

The money helped the country won the overall championship in last December’s Southeast Asian Games.

“It is clear that Pagcor has not been remiss of its financial commitments to its mandated beneficiaries like the PSC. The state-gaming agency is doing its best to continuously be of service to the nation, especially in this difficult time,” it said.

The PSC will reconvene via online conference on April 30 to finalize the assistance, which is estimated to amount from P5,000 to P10,000.

And this development assured everyone there will be money for all.