Where did the money for NSAs go?

The fact that the government is widely accepted as the main source of funding in the promotion and development of sports in a developing country like ours, it does not follow that those in charge of that twin responsibility, in this case the National Sports Associations, should get the license to spend the peoples’ money foolishly.
I was therefore appalled to read the report by PDI sportswriter June Navarro that a “58 NSAs have a combined P130.6 million in unliquidated cash advances that the government, through its agency—the Philippine Sports Commission—is asking them to settle immediately.
Out of these 58 national sports bodies, 39 of them are regular members of the Philippine Olympic Committee headed by former Tarlac Rep. Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr.
“Will these NSAs pay up the money they owed the PSC?” asked embattled track and field president Go Teng Kok, whose athletics association is set to settle (or has already settled?) the unliquidated P4.5 monetary support it got from the PSC.
Added Go: “If they can’t pay back, the PSC needs to file a case against them. But please help those without obligations with the PSC with their training and international commitments.”
PSC chair Richie Garcia said the agency is still awaiting a comprehensive report from the PSC’s accounting department to identify the NSAs which failed to justify their cash advances through receipts and pertinent purchase documents.
The PSC gave these NSAs a one-month extension to settle their obligations.
Explained former tennis association chief and now PSC Commissioner Buddy Andrada: “The PSC board has decided to give these NSAs more time to complete their unliquidated advances in order to allow their athletes to train more and prepare for their forthcoming international exposure.”
Aquatics tops the list with an unliquidated cash advances of P10,526,638 million, including previous obligations of P4.9 million. Swimming has to account for P8,066,537, diving P752,981, water polo P1,513,022 and synchronized swimming P194,096.
Aquatics failed to win a gold medal in the last 26th Southeast Asian Games held in Jakarta last year.
The PH delegation finished sixth overall, its worst performance since 1977, with a lean harvest of 36 gold, 56 silver and 77 bronze medals.
Also earlier reported with unsettled accounts were wushu (P7,967,254), gymnastics (P6,654,044), shooting (P5,674,931), canoe/kayak (P5,654,863), chess (P5,430,138), volleyball (P5,179,330), football/futsal (P5,014,331), karatedo (P4,863,921), wrestling (P4,521,280), weightlifting (P4,313,545), muay (P3,536,144), sailing (P3,279,203), table tennis (P3,066,635), pencat silat (P2,351,303) and windsurfing (P2,178,428).
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My late esteemed and valued friend, sportsman-businessman Eugenio J. Puyat, first president of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines, left the Abap with a lasting legacy. He also left the country’s most bemedalled sport in the Olympics with no obligations whatsoever.
During his term, Tito Gene, as he was also popularly known, left the Abap with savings of P192,548.04. The most successful NSA president in recent memory, Puyat produced the Philippines’ first Olympic silver medal winner during the Tokyo Games in 1964 when featherweight Anthony Villanueva lost a “sure gold” to Russia’s Stanislav Stepashkin, losing 3-2 in the finals.
Tito Gene was a workaholic, attending to his duty without fail, leaving his business in Manila for days or weeks and traveling abroad or to the provinces with his staff at his own expense. He served as Abap president from 1961 until 1970.
Born on Dec. 22, 1916, Tito Gene died on May 20, 1980 at age 64.