The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) announced Tuesday that the P30 million earmarked for the training and preparation of athletes bound for the 2008 Beijing Olympics had been released by the Department of Budget and Management.

PSC chairman William Ramirez said half of the amount would be used to pay off the debts the commission had incurred since the Olympic training program started in December.

While waiting for the budget to be released, the PSC advanced a total of P17,162,700, using credit lines and special arrangements with its suppliers, to subsidize the international exposure of the 14 athletes who qualified for the Olympics.

A big part of the expenses was used for the participation of athletes in Olympic qualifying tournaments, with boxing spending P3,057,240.27 on three qualifying events.

Harry Tanamor, the lone Olympic boxing qualifier, and taekwondo-jins Tshomlee Go and Marie Antoinette are the country’s top hopes for medals in the Beijing Games, which will start on Aug. 8.

The other Olympic qualifiers so far are swimmers Miguel Molina, JB Walsh, Ryan Arabejo, Daniel Coakley and Cristel Simms, archery’s Mark Javier, divers Sheila Mae Perez and Ryan Rexel Fabriga and trap shooter Eric Ang and two automatic entries from track and field. Edited by INQUIRER.net