Senator Sonny Angara. (INQUIRER.net file photo)
MANILA, Philippines–Singapore has 21 national sports centers spread across the tiny city-state, a mind-blowing difference compared to the two government sports facilities of the Philippines.
For this glaring disparity alone, Senator Sonny Angara vowed to push for the establishment of more world-class sports facilities all over the country.
“We obviously lack sports facilities compared to our neighbor countries like Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand,’’ said Angara during the first Philippine Professional Sports Summit at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
“We already started giving support at the grassroots level. But still, it is not enough,’’ added the 47-year-old lawmaker who also sits as chairman of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
Organized by the Games and Amusement Board, athletes and officials of various professional sports flocked to the two-day summit.
Among the notables who showed up at the summit were PBA commissioner Willie Marcial, billiards hero Efren “Bata’’ Reyes, PBA legend William “Bogs’’ Adornado, football’s James Younghusband and IBF minimumweight boxing champion Pedro Taduran.
Filipino national athletes train at two government-run facilities—the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila and the Philsports Complex—both of which are under renovation by the Philippine Sports Commission.
“We only have two that can accommodate 10,000 or less. We also don’t have public golf courses except in the military camps,’’ said Angara, author of the expanded athletes and coaches incentives act.
Another sports complex is being built by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac while the PSC will put up one more next year under the Philippine Sports Training Center Act, which was also authored by Angara in the Senate.
The PSTC law has allocated a government funding of P3.5 billion for the PSC to build a training center of its choice, one that the sports agency can finally call its own.
The Rizal Memorial Sports Complex is operated by the PSC, but the 10-hectare property is owned by the city of Manila while the Philsports Complex sits on an area controlled by the Department of Education.