DAVAO CITY—The Philippine Sports Commission must provide ample funding for a countryside national grassroots program to succeed and future stagings of the Palarong Pambansa must undergo an overhaul.
This is the clamor of heads of local government units who attended a meeting with officials of the PSC and the Philippine Sports Institute at the Crystal Ballroom of the Pinnacle Hotel here.
The LGU officials, led by Tagum City Mayor Allan Rellon and Kidapawan City Mayor Joseph Evangelista, called for the restoration of the full five percent remittance of the Philippine Gaming Corporation to the PSC.
They sought the PSC’s help in reaching out to the Department of Education in a bid to harmonize the conduct of the staging of the three multi-event competitions, which are the Philippine National Games, the Batang Pinoy and the Palarong Pambansa.
“The resolutions proposed by the mayors of Mindanao was an indication of their demands for a genuine grassroots sports program,” said Ramirez after the five-hour meeting.
Rellon, who is the vice president of the League of Cities of the Philippines, spearheaded LGUs in signing a manifesto that asks the PSC to intercede on their behalf over funds that the PAGCOR is supposed to remit to the agency.
The manifesto seeks to the compel the PSC to request to the Office of the President that PAGCOR release in full the agency’s five percent share of its gross income, which is in accordance to Republic Act no. 6847.
“If this is the kind of programs we have, and the budget is not enough, it will never happen,” said Rellon, who was present along with representatives of more than a hundred LGUs from the Mindanao region that also listened to commissioners Charles Maxey and Ramon Fernandez talk alongside Philippine Sports Institute heads Marc Velasco and Henry Daut.
On the other hand, Ramirez tasked commissioner Charles Maxey to discuss with officials of the Deped on how it will conduct the Palarong Pambansa in its future stagings.
Ramirez explained that many LGUs are complaining over the huge expenses they incur in funding the preparation and the formation of a delegation which annually goes to the Palaro.
“It has to be discussed. I don’t know the thinking of the Deped on this,” added Ramirez.
He said that the Deped needs to strengthen its programs for kids below 13 years old, if young talents are to be discovered.
He added that there is also a need to improve the competence of their coaches, who are public school teachers.
The LGUs, according to Ramirez, felt that the coaches who are handling their athletes in the Palaro are usually not handling wards well.
“If you listen to the LGUs, according to them, wala silang maayos na coaching (the kids),” said Ramirez.