EDITORIAL – Why Philippine sports stink

Everytime our national athletes compete and lose overseas whether it be the regionals, the Asiad or the World Championships and Olympics, we always resort to the blame game.
And when we have spurts of successes with instant solutions such as drafting foreign-based half Filipinos, we are a nation divided between keeping our tue sense of nationalism or rejoicing in victory.
We cannot host major sports competitions what with our dilapidated government sports facilities.
Our athletes could barely train with proper and modern equipment or sent to train overseas or compete in pocket tournaments to gain international exposure.
It’s a pity. And whoever sits at the Phlippine Sports Commission (PSC) is doomed to fail given the funding constraints of the government sports agency, not to mention some scalawags sitting as sports officials who raid whatever is left government funds to their pockets.
The real problem is that the PSC does not receive proper remittance due it by provision of law from two government-run agencies.
As per RA 6847 that created the PSC Act of 1990, PAGCOR is mandated to remit five percent of its gross income to the government sports agency, while PCSO is supposed to remit 30 percent of earnings from six sweepstakes or lottery draws per annum.
But beginning 1993, PAGCOR has unilaterally brought down its contribution to just 2.1375 percent of its gross income, on the strength of an executive order from the Office of the President handed down during the time of President Ramos.
PCSO on the other hand, has likewise refused to comply with the law.
The estimated amount the two agencies owed PSC is close to P4 billion from 2010-2015 alone. This amount could go a long way in the development of Philippine sports.
PAGCOR apparently relied on a mere memorandum approved by the Office of the President during the time of President Ramos in unilaterally reducing the share it provides for Philippine sports.
Apparently, the basis is a memorandum of then PAGCOR chairman Alice Reyes with the marginal approval of President Ramos. That’s where it all started.
It is an established legal tenet that no executive order can over-ride an expressed provision of law passed by the legislature.
For its part, PCSO is not remitting its share since 2006, contending that its lotto operation is different from ‘lottery’ as stipulated in RA 6847. The contention is a contravention of at least two legal opinions made by the Department of Justice.
A petition for mandamus has been filed by Pampanga first district congressman Yeng Guiao on Tuesday before the Supreme Court to require the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to remit the proper contributions to the government sports agency.
It’s now in the hands of the court to uphold the application of the law where it needs no interpretation.