PSC Chair to hard-headed NSAs: Bye-bye

BEING a former chairman of the agency that he now heads again, Philippine Sports Commission head Butch Ramirez is no stranger to the ills of Philippine sports. And, among the major the stumbling block in the progress are the very people themselves who are supposed to take care of sports, the NSAs.

And, over the years, the PSC has played second fiddle to the POC, a private entity, sometimes even parrotting the POC as was the case of the infamous “we will send a lean and mean team to the Myanmar SEA Games.”

Not anymore, says Chairman Butch, now a little leaner and with less hair compared to the last time he dropped by Cebu over 10 years ago for the Southeast Asian Games.

“The PSC should not be subservient to the NSAs,” he said.

Some NSA officials see themselves as gods' gift to Philippine sports and think anything they say, or fart even, is the law that should be followed. They don't want to be replaced, lest they lose that chance for that coveted junket trips abroad disguised as “sports development.”

Chairman Butch knows that but right now, he's willing to partner with the NSAs. However, if they insist of doing things the same way before.

“The problem with the NSAs are most of the officers are powerful people, politicians, he said, “Pero kung mag-magahi sila, aw, babay.”

He cited the use of government facilities for example. Some athletes can't use them because they are not affiliated with the right persons in the POC. That's a case of a nongovernmental organization having the final say on who gets to use of a government facility. Does that make sense? “Ngano dili man pagamitun kay dili kaila? Dili kampi? Butch said. “Dili na mahimo.”

The PSC, according to Butch, is willing to go to the athletes themselves or even the LGUs. As for the hard-headed NSAs, well, the chair is close to the president.

Peping, the POC chair, may had been the uncle of the former president but I don't think he was as close to Noynoy as Butch is to Digong.

And the chair has set the tone for the NSAs in a meeting with Peping.

“You are my friend,” he told the longserving POC president. “But at the end of the day, my president is Duterte and the Filipino people.”

Which is his way of telling the POC and NSAs, your happy days are over. Babay!

BRIDGE REPORTS. Two kababayans who were on the road yesterday had contrasting reactions to the traffic caused by the Cobra Ironman 70.3. Doc Joel Pascual, who was traveling to the airport from Mabolo, was surprised at the smooth flow, while Harry Lomadilla, who lives in Lapu-Lapu posted: Pila naman katuig ang Ironman pero ngano wala man gihapon klaro ang rerouting?