Philippine Olympic Committee president Bambol Tolentino has come up with a game plan to stem the tide on the funding dilemma that will surely affect the welfare of the national athletes.
With the backing of his fellow legislators, the POC chief would push to restore the financial reserves of the Philippine Sports Commission taken by the national government to divert to the country’s fight against coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“As a member of the House of Representatives, I will lobby for it and try to return the amount to the PSC,’’ said Tolentino, a representative of Cavite’s eighth district.
He explained the attempt to recover the P1.3-billion PSC budget, which was realigned by the Department of Budget and Management, would be made possible through the proposed extension of the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.’’
“We will include it in the Bayanihan to Heal as One extension for the athletes to receive their allowances in full,’’ said Tolentino.
A total of P596 million from the PSC’s National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) and P773 million from the General Appropriations Act were redirected back to the national treasury last week for the nation’s battle against the virus.The NSDF bankrolls the allowances, training and upkeep of athletes and coaches, including foreign training and competition, while the GAA subsidizes the salaries of PSC employees and maintenance of facilities controlled by the agency.
Making matters more difficult, the PSC remittance from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation plummeted to P9 million this month, forcing the sports-financing agency to slash the monthly allowances of over a thousand athletes and coaches from 56 sports into half.
Prior to the pandemic, the Pagcor used to remit monthly shares of not less than P100 million until casino operations under the government-controlled gaming corporation were halted during the wave of community quarantines beginning March 16.
“The good news is Pagcor has begun to remit again. I just don’t know if it can cover the portion where the allowances of the athletes got cut into half,’’ said Tolentino.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have sought the extension of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act until September 30, granting President Duterte additional authority to combat COVID-19.
“Our national athletes are the front-liners in sports. They made the country really proud after giving honor as overall champions last year (in the Southeast Asian Games),’’ said Tolentino.