The Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Sports Institute are conducting Directional Meetings with the Local Government Units and that is a very good move by PSC chairman William “Butch” Ramirez and PSI chief Marc Velasco.
LGUs need to get in tune with the road map for sports development being drawn by the two sports agencies which is important. The ongoing exchange of ideas and concerns being discussed will definitely streamline everything as the National Physical Fitness and Sports Development Councils are being revived.
The Councils were created years ago under the Interior and Local Government department but it has not gained traction simply because there was no unified direction in sports.
PSC takes charge of the funding, the PSI sets up the comprehensive development and with the support of the LGUs through the Councils, sports development in the country will soar to greater heights.
We used to dominate sports in the Asian region and everyone in sports know that. However, it has deteriorated and it is a shame that we have not maintained our being a sports power in the region.
The PSI will play a very crucial part in the development of our athletes and the Institute needs all the support it can get from its development partners.
I read that Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. president Dennis Uy, who is from Davao, has made a commitment to help sports development in the country. What if other big, big corporations come and join? That would be wonderful for our athletes and coaches.
Truth is, there are no new ideas needed. It’s just a matter of learning from our sports superpower neighbours through sports agreements and hopefully, one day, we will be in the sports map once again as champions from Asia.
The PSC, PSI, LGUs working together is what we need for change to happen in Philippine sports development.
