PHILIPPINE SPORTS COMMISSION ASSURES: World-class facilities for Filipino athletes

ANGELES CITY — The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) assures world class sports facilities for Filipino athletes with New Clark City (NCC) at the center of it.

PSC Chairman Butch Ramirez said it has always been their mission to put Filipino athletes on the world stage to compete against the world’s best.

Ramirez disclosed this during the OneYear Countdown for the 30thSoutheast Asian Games (SEA) Games 2019 held at Bayanihan Park recent l y.

“As part of our commitment to our athletes, hectares of land in Capas, Tarlac are now being develop into a world class sports facility for the SEA Games. The NCC Hub will host the banner of sports for the games,” Ramirez, who is also Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee Co-Vice Chair, said.

“It will contain a 20,000 seating capacity Athletic Stadium, 2,000 seating capacity Aquatics Center, an Athletes’ Villageand

“Spending for the first nine months of the year increased by a staggering Php170 billion or 46%. This is clear proof that the Build Build Build program is firing on all cylinders,” Diokno said.

Last year, actual disbursements for infrastructure and other capital outlays outpays the program by Php19.4 billion or by 3.5%. Actual infrastructure disbursements are again ahead of the program by Php38.2 billion or 7.2 % this year.

The improvement in the budget utilization, he said, may be attributed to the government’s budget reform program.

“We inherited an obligation based budget system with appropriations valid for up to two years. Such a system posed perverse incentives. First, there was no pressure on bureaucrats to spend their budget within the given year. Second, since projects take a long time to take off and payments to contractors and service providers were delayed, the good, honest to goodness contractors and service providers shy away from government because of the long delays,” he said.

Due to these flaws, DBM implemented an annual cash based budget where goods and services must be inspected, delivered and paid for in the same fiscal year subject to an extended payment period of three months.

Diokno reiterated the government’s commitment to institutionalize reforms that will ensure proper budget utilization. (CLJD/MJLS-PIA 3)