The Facebook comments on fellow sportswriter Ka Joey Villar’s account for several days have dwelled on the country’s participation to the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.
The varying comments started with the post that the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has spent P300 million for the Games.
If you closely read on the comments, their answers would entirely depend on who actually are commenting.
Of course, the expenditure can be justified if you base it on the premise that we need to participate because sports participation is needed as a sign of goodwill and friendship with other nationals in Southeast Asia, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Many years ago, one afternoon at the PTA football field(now Peoples’ Park), the late reverred coach Jose “Sensei” Te, Davao Football Association president Vic Sai and DFA treasurer Edward “Chaya” Lam (God bless their souls) were hosting a Japanese coach(whose name, unfortunately, I could no longer recall) who came to visit Davao.
The coach shared a story that the Philippines used to beat Japan in international football tournaments, 12-0 and gradually in later years, the scores were no longer that worse. It became 10-0, 8-0, 5-0, 1-0 and eventually there was a big turnaround.
With the creation of the Japanese League (J-League), Japan has greatly improved football development and everybody knows in the soccer world, that today, Japan is a power in the sport.
Yes, ladies and gents, we can no longer beat them!
Currently, FIFA, the world’s governing body for football, has ranked Japan at No.44 in the world rankings and the Philippines is at No.127.
See the difference?
My point here is simple.
We have to develop a comprehensive sports plan for a chosen sport and that should first be developed at home before we plunge into action in the international scene. Whose job is this? This is the job of the Philippine Olympic Committee(POC).
We have to be aware that the Philippine Sports Commission(PSC) is funded by taxpayers’ money and this is exactly the comments kept on trending on Ka Joey’s FB with the nagging question, was it worth the P300M “investment”?
Some say it’s not worth it, saying it is another worse finish by the Philippines in the Games, which as of this writing we are still very, very far away from the 50-gold medal target.
The POC trains the national athletes and the PSC simply funds them.
I would not mind if that P300M is not government money. The POC officials can raise it themselves if they want to.
Again, as I have stated previously in this corner, we are currently in a situation to fix the various problems at home and funds are scarce these days.
Would there be a revolution or a coup d’état by the POC led by Peping Cojuangco if the PSC Board headed by chairman William “Butch” Ramirez simply makes a stand that government funds should be first used to good use by developing a sports program here at home, making it strong and once we are ready, we compete in international tournaments using corporate funds of the big sponsors?
The children are the real gold, right chairman Butch?
The “gold mines” at the POC have run dry dear members of the PSC Board.
So, why keep on investing government money on the POC?
