AROUND P2 billion will be needed for the initial cost of renovations and repair of facilities inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and those that are under the care of the Philippine Sports Commission.
Executive Director Sannah Privaldo said this is the ballpark figure that they have come up in undergoing makeovers that are supposed to take place in the last quarter of the year.
“That’s the ballpark figure that we are presenting,” said Privaldo, who discussed the rehabilitation program they working on with PSC Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez.
The PSC has taken this budget up before Senate president Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel Jr. and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez in a series of meetings over the past weeks.
“I believe they’re coming up with a budget. And we’re hoping that it will be included,” added Privaldo.
Ramirez said the planned rehabilitation of the complex in Vito Cruz has not yet included the Rizal Memorial Coliseum and the football stadium.
Coordination will still have to be done with the National Historical Institute over the two venues.
Aside from the RMSC, the Philsports Complex in Pasig and the Amoranto Stadium in Quezon City are also in the pipeline for repairs.
The makeover at Rizal Memorial Coliseum will also involve the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, which is the overall policy-making body, coordinating and grants-giving agency for the preservation, development and promotion of Philippine arts and culture.
Discussions on the fate of the RMSC was also taken up after the PSC announced the cancellation of the staging of the Philippine National Games that were supposed to be held in Cebu City from Nov. 10 to 16.
Ramirez explained that the PNG will now be held from April 15 to 21.
He said lack of billeting quarters was among the main reasons for the cancellation.
The classrooms, which are supposed to house the athletes in selected schools, are currently in use in the ongoing schoolyear.