More nat’l athletes joining PSC priority program
MORE national athletes are now showing interest in the Philippine Sports Commission’s priority plan for the 2013 Southeast Asian Games.
A big group of athletes have signed up after PSC chair Richie Garcia threatened to spend the priority funds for other projects last month while admonishing them for snubbing the program.
Garcia proudly announced before leaving for the London Olympics yesterday that the number of athletes in the priority program has jacked up to 48 from only five two weeks ago.
“They realized that they should join the program. To be a priority athlete is not a right, but a privilege,” said Garcia, who will represent the government in the Olympics set to kick off today until Aug. 12.
The agency has an initial capital outlay of P200 million for the 145 priority athletes, all of them medalists in last year’s SEA Games in Indonesia.
Only a few joined the program when the PSC announced the list of qualified athletes in February and this drew the ire of Garcia.
Wrestlers Margarito Angana, Jason Balabal and Robertson Torres were the first ones to avail followed by sailors Ridgely Balladares and Rommel Chavez and the 17-man track and field team.
