Party-list bats for a Department of Sports
A partylist group is seeking the creation of the Department of Sports that would seriously attend to the needs of national athletes.
Pwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) spokesperson Jericho “Koko” Nograles lamented the “pitiful state” of the country’s sports sector due to lack of government support, a fragmented and overly politicized sports sector and a defective recruitment and training of national athletes.
“The Philippines has achieved unprecedented success in many past international sporting events and has produced so many sporting legends but after the reorganization of the defunct Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) that removed culture and sports administration as one of the department’s key mandate, Philippine sports has been in the doldrums ever since, “he said.
He noted that the Philippines used to be a major player in international sporting competitions but it went on a rapid decline when Congress decided to reorganize the Department of Education Culture and Sports (DECS) through Republic Act 9155 (Governance Education Act) which removed culture and sports as part of the department’s primary mandate.
“One reason why our national athletes would rather play pro than play for their country are the financial rewards and other perks that are offered to them. Others decide to shun sports completely and pursue other careers because their talent alone cannot bring food on the table. We can reverse this if only the government can at least make sure that our athletes and their families are given the support that they need,” Nograles said.
He said despite the creation of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the hundreds of various national sports associations, the state of the sports sectors has not improved.
He noted that in the history of the Olympic games, the Philippines has won 9 medals, which is a little more than the average country has won. The country has participated in 23 Olympics for an 0.4 medals each Olympics, he shared.
Of all those medals, about 78 percent are bronze, 22 percent are silver and 0 percent gold, Nograles said.
“The Philippines is rich with many world- class athletes and all that is needed is an agency that is completely focused in recruiting and developing athletes while ensuring that they are not only given all the needed facilities for their training but their families are given adequate financial support as well,” he said.
He said the Department of Sports shall have a full and exclusive mandate to run and manage the country’s sports sector. “This agency should be run by professionals who truly understand sports science and not by politicians who barely understand the needs of our athletes,” he said.