THE OPERATIVE word is to usufruct and not to sell.
Thus, the Philippine Sports Commission is planning to cash in on the properties under its watch in order to fund the planned Philippine Olympic City/Philippine Sports Institute that would cost P3-6 billion.
PSC Chair Butch Ramirez said his legal team deemed that the lots on which their properties are standing are owned by local government units and thereby can’t be sold by the agency.
“Based on Republic Act 6847, these facilities (Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Philsports and Baguio training center) are ours in terms of management and their buildings, but the land is owned by the local or national government,” said Ramirez.
Ramirez said the facilities could help them raise at least P3 billion which will be added to the savings of the previous PSC administration amounting to P1 billion.
“At the moment, money is not the problem, it’s the master plan,” said Ramirez.
The projected Philippine Olympic City, to be built on an elevated 50-hectare property, will house the national training center as well as the PSI and the PSC administrative buildings.
It is also being eyed as venue for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.