PSC has long history of misused funds
IT’S not surprising that the Philppine Sports Commission (PSC), funding arm of national amateur sports, has been cited by the Commission on Audit (COA) for an obvious misuse of funds.
The COA, in a report by Free Baste News, has noted the sorry state of the country’s sports venues “despite receiving sufficient funds from the government.”
The COA noted that the PSC got an additional budget of P626.563 million in 2013 alone.
Despite this, the COA noted that there was clear failure to maintain and upgrade the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila and the Philsports Complex in Pasig City.
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The COA also itemized the defective and damaged sports equipment and facilities in both venues.
The detailing of discrepancies is standard practice.
But what’s truly surprising is the silence on the part of the PSC, which has actually been batting for the construction of a modern sports arena and national training center outside Metro Manila.
For the record, the PSC is directly under the Office of the President, which should’ve by now ordered a reply or clarification from concerned officials, mainly PSC chair Richie Garcia, a protege and known ally of Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose Cojuangco Jr.
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If Garcia is neither on leave nor sick, he owes it to the Filipino youth, mainly the selfless horde that toil daily in various sporting fields practically on their own, to heed the COA call for clarification.
Maybe President Aquino, if he truly cares for Philippine sports, should himself demand an explanation from the PSC.
This funds-rich agency has had a sick history of misused funds since its inaugural year.
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(SHALLOW PH BENCH: The philanthropic Dr. Jim Sanchez, who continues to serve through his off-shore charity clinics, says the Philippines is truly luckless as it has a shallow pool of leaders to choose from: “I think Manny Pacquiao is bent on running for the Senate in 2016 and the presidency in 2022. It will either be (Vice President Jejomar) Binay or (Sen. Grace) Poe who will be our next President. It will be a choice between an alleged thief and a less-experienced leader. God forbid but the favorite to win in 2022 is Pacquiao. We have a crisis. We have a shallow pool of leaders to choose from.”)
