Sports officials were divided yesterday regarding the source of funding for Philippine sports in the coming months and years.
National training director Mike Keon said yesterday that money will probably be no longer a problem for Philippine sports following the country’s spectacular victory in the 23
rd Southeast Asian Games. But Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella isn’t as optimistic.
While Keon sees the cup overflowing, Puentevella sees the opposite as he filed a resolution asking the government to be more generous in funding the Philippine Sports Commision.
According to Puentevella, the Department of Budget and Management has allocated
P26 million for the PSC next year, an amount he described as "a pittance" adding that if this is approved, "it would be a death sentence" for Philippine sports.
Puentevella said the government should allocate at least
P250 million for the PSC next year in light of the Philippine success in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games and not P26 million which it has approved.
"A budget this small for the PSC is tantamount to a death sentence for our athletes who deserve more than this pittance that Department of Budget and Management has proposed. Not only will a budget this size stop the existing programs, it will definitely cancel all the future plans that the PSC has come up to benefit sports,’’ said Puentevella, who is also the first vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee.
"The time has come once again to focus on sports development programs which will enable our country to display impressive results in forthcoming competitions such as the 2006 Asian Games and the 2007 Southeast Asian Games. One integral factor to ensure this success is to provide adequate funding for our athletes in order to improve their training and performance.’’
On the other hand, Keon believes the funding problem is over.
"Winning the overall title in the SEAG is a stepping-stone,’’ said Keon. "And I think it would be easier to raise money now since we won the title and this would definitely be good for our preparation.’’
While he is not sure whether another pledging session would raise
P160 million such as the one conducted by First Gentleman Mike Arroyo early this year, Keon said asking for financial help will no longer be as hard as drawing blood from a turnip.
"I am not so sure if we can exceed
P160 million because you must remember that when we go to the Asian Games, the number of athletes would not be as many as in the SEA Games,’’ added Keon.
Keon added that there’s no need to rush for the Asian Games and it would be ideal that those being groomed to represent the country can start training as early as February or even six months before the Asiad at the latest.
The Doha Asian Games will be held from Dec. 1 to Dec. 15 with 39 sports on tap.
In the last Asian Games in Busan, the Philippines wound up with three gold medals courtesy of equestrian, billiards and bowling, three sports that will be played in the Qatari capital.
