How not to corrupt otherworldly sports icons

OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT

(Part II)

As we suggested in our last column, it is no secret that the Philippines’ official sports program is not perfect. 

The first known government sports organization was the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF) in 1911, which was formed only to resolve what was then the ongoing “menace of professionalism” and erosion in Philippine sports. Around 50 years later, in the 1960s, the Association for the Advancement of Amateur Athletic (AAAA) came into being. 

Under martial law, Presidential Decree No. 604 established the Department of Youth and Sports Development in 1974 and abolished the PAAF, transferring all its resources and functions to the Department. Later renamed Ministry of Youth and Sports Development in 1979, it was mandated under Letter of Instruction No. 955 to implement Project Gintong Alay (PGA).

PGA sought to put under one roof all development programs of athletics, first for track and field, and later for some other sports. Reported prodigies include the legendary Lydia de Vega, Isidro del Prado, Hector Begeo and Elma Muros. 

Aside from these initiatives, if there’s anything that speaks best of our desire to land in the podium, it is the 1987 Philippine Constitution’s declaration of the importance of sports in establishing a healthy and functioning citizenry. 

In 1990, with the significant evolution of global sports, then President Cory Aquino signed into law a new government sports agency with stronger and more focused objectives. The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) was thus born to transform the Filipino people into “a healthy citizenry through various commendable sports development programs.”

The Commission’s vision is focused on one, increased participation in sports by Filipinos, and two, excellence in sports performance by Filipinos. Its mission is to coordinate and implement our national sports program, democratize sports access and training, and elevate the level of training for highly talented and promising athletes for global competition. 

Filipinos can bet that there has never been a dearth of sports projects and programs across the country. PSC lists in its website Batang Pinoy, Indigenous People’s Games, Laro’t Saya sa Parke, Philippine National Games, Pilipinas Para Games and Gender and Development Program. 

So, what ails Philippine sports, that our medal campaigns in global competitions have been sporadic and obviously incoherent?

Veteran sportswriter Joaquin Henson explained some years ago in the Philippine Star why the Philippines has yet to win an Olympic gold after nearly a hundred years of participating in the Olympics. For him, it was “an arduous journey of frustration, exasperation and disappointment.” At that time, the Philippines held the distinction of second in the world for reaping gold-less medals with 10, Malaysia being the first with 11. 

Henson cited the lack of coordination between the PSC and the private organization Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). Government is focused on grassroots development and yet controls the budget to finance national athletes. Meanwhile, the POC consists of the national sports associations that aim to develop star athletes but is undermined by reported politics, graft, nepotism, and incompetence. We are no match to Thailand, Henson argued, which had accumulated more than 30 medals in only 70 years of its Olympics participation. 

Henson also blamed the so-called shot-gun approach in allocating limited resources to several sports, a clear exercise in dissipation. Instead, we need our sports officials to concentrate on niche sports calibrated with weight classification like boxing, judo, weightlifting and similar sports. It would be considered suicidal if we continue to spend feeble resources on sports where our likelihood of success is slim because the sports is free for all.

Funding is another reason for our weak performance not just in the Olympics, but also in the Asian Games or SEA Games. While the law requires the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to remit five percent of its gross revenues to the PSC, or at that time, ₱200 million monthly, what goes into the operation of the Commission is much less than the required remittance.

Perhaps it’s not asking for the moon if we can also professionalize both the PSC and the POC; less politics, more action. If we can do this, the budget for sports could be rationalized and properly allocated. If the plan is intentional and executed properly, with scorecards and accountability, we should be able to see good, institutionalized results. We can finally add more numbers to our sports greats, those talents that can harvest golds and silvers in global competitions — not as a matter of luck but as a matter of course.

In the last 10 years, it was reported that the PSC received an average of around ₱180 million annually from the public treasury. On top of this meager allocation, the PSC also gets money from PAGCOR and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes (PCSO) and a few other government institutions like the National Sports Development Fund. With additional funding from the Bureau of Customs, Philippine Racing Commission and private donations, that could easily amount to nearly ₱900 million a year. While this amount can seem staggering to the normal Filipino, it’s peanuts compared to what other countries are spending on sports and their athletes. Obviously, this disparity in investment explains our suboptimal performance in international games.

Despite it all, our athletes’ podium finishes prove that we are a country of hope, and that our resilience shines not just during flash floods, but also in the international arena. If we could produce a Hidilyn Diaz in weightlifting and a Carlos Yulo in gymnastics, we must be doing something right. But we could surpass ourselves if we succeed in producing more Diazes and Yulos on a more regular, more systematic basis. 

Yes, we’ll achieve more mileage if we channel some of those prizes to our reinvented sports program. Our athletes deserve a better life after the Olympics, something that could hopefully inspire rather than slacken them. But a better sports development program that produces excellence on a more regular basis should always be the first best.