Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William “Butch” Ramirez encouraged local athletes and sports leaders to dedicate themselves to achieving excellence in their respective fields in order to establish the country more as a sporting powerhouse in the region as well as the world.

This he spoke of as he graced the official inauguration and blessing of the newly-renovated PSC office on Monday at the Cebu City Sports Complex, where he was joined by fellow PSC top honcho, executive director Fr. Vic Uy.

“In my term as chairman of the PSC, I’ve learned that we must have focus on the goals at hand, commitment, endurance and the love for the country if we are to excel on the world’s sporting stage,” said Ramirez during the press conference, which followed the ceremonies.

Also in the gathering were Cebu City councilor Jack Jakosalem, PSC regional coordinator Danny Villadolid, chief PESSB of DepEd-7 Dr. Vivian Giñete and Dancesport-Team Cebu City founder Edward Hayco.

Ramirez’ sentiments served as a battle cry for Cebuano athletes after the 14-man Philippine delegation, which will be competing in the Summer Olympics this August in Beijing, China, will leave without a single athlete from Cebu and the rest of the Visayas.

“The national sports strength really comes from the local government units and so we must really try to strengthen this by setting up a genuine grassroots sports program in cities, towns and municipalities all over the country along with a genuine scientific sports program,” Ramirez added.

Ramirez also suggested that Cebu sports should have a consultative meeting with national sports associations, the government and private sectors, and review the Olympic sports to see which are realistically feasible to compete in.

The PSC main office also donated two container vans full of gymnastics equipment while Ramirez promised a boxing ring imported from China in the near future. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio