Once cash is in, then what?

Joey Romasanta has been involved in sports for over 50 years and with his background, is an authority in the field. After all, he was president of three NSAs (karate, volleyball and softball), Gintong Alay executive director in 1987-90, the Philippine delegation’s chef de mission at the 2016 Olympics and for a brief period, POC president in 2019.

It was a welcome call when Romasanta, 80, phoned the other day to recount his recent conversation with former Pampanga vice governor and Rep. Yeng Guiao, now Rain or Shine coach in the PBA. “I congratulated Yeng for winning the case before the Supreme Court, mandating PAGCOR and PCSO to give their share to PSC by law,” he said. “It took eight years but natapos na rin. I was 23 when I met Yeng’s father, Gov. Bren who was a close friend of Ninoy (Aquino), an excellent writer and quite soft-spoken. I mentioned to Yeng that once the money is in, then what?”

Romasanta is concerned that when the money is finally delivered, it may go to waste unless there is a master plan on how to utilize the funds. The estimate is back remittances could amount to over P25 billion and the monthly allocation to PSC could jump from P150 million to P1.6 billion. Romasanta said a planned approach is critical in disbursing the funds. A hitch is if PAGCOR had released the PSC-appropriated funds to Malacañang instead as ordered by then-President Ramos since 1993, it may not be in a position to deliver back payables to PSC.

“Kung walang plano at walang coordinated effort, paano natin malalaman kung kulang o sobra ang pag-gamit ng pera,” said Romasanta. “Alam natin na dapat mapunta to promote a healthy citizenry and develop elite athletes. Sa Japan, mayroon silang National Sports Council where all sports organizations, including the Olympic Committee, are under so coordinated ang sports development efforts ng lahat. May oversight committee to monitor the implementation of plans, to determine how successful or unsuccessful the programs are. Kailangan may evaluation. Ang pera is just a resource towards attaining results.”

Romasanta said the planned approach requires the stamp of approval from the President himself. “It’s not a listing of training schedules, competitions and venues,” he said. “The person of the highest authority must give his go-signal for the plan to roll out so everyone follows. Someone has to champion it and the plan must be monitored according to standards and parameters. The PSC and POC must submit to this plan. I remember President Bong Bong Marcos recalled the merits of Gintong Alay which had a planned approach and brought out several sports heroes who gave honor to our country and inspiration to our youth.”

Romasanta said he was recently at the NCAA season opening and had a chance to converse with guest speaker Education Secretary Sen. Sonny Angara. “I was asked by the NCAA Board to invite Sen. Sonny,” he said. “We spoke about Palarong Pambansa and the need to strengthen the physical education program in public schools at the grassroots level. Crucial ang close coordination between DepEd and NSAs in organizing the Palaro sporting events.” Now is the time to craft a grand plan for sports with the impending windfall from PAGCOR and PCSO. What a shame if after the funds are transferred, they’re not used properly.