PSC Chair Garcia Hopes Full Support from Incoming Admin
By Aquiles Z. Zonio
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 20 May 2016
Garcia.
GENERAL SANTOS CITY ? The current chair of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) pins hope on presumptive President Rodrigo ?Digong? Duterte to improve, if not overhaul, the country?s ailing sports sector.
"I am confident that the new administration under incoming President Rodrigo Duterte will address the persistent problems bugging the Philippine sports," PSC chair Richard Garcia said.
Garcia claimed the three leading problems hampering the development of sports in this country include, lack of budgetary support, lack of a conducive training facility and corruption.
PSC?s legal mandate, based on Republic Act No. 6847 in 1990, is to serve as the sole policy-making and coordinating body of all amateur sports development programs and institutions in the country.
Its primary function is to provide leadership, formulate the policies and set the priorities and directions of all national sports promotion and development particularly giving emphasis on grassroots participation.
Circumventing the law?
Under Rule VII, Section 1 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 6847, 30 percent of the charity fund generated from the proceeds of six sweepstakes or lottery draws per year, taxes on horse races during special holidays, five percent of the gross income of the Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), the proceeds from the sale of stamps and three percent of all the taxes collected on imported athletic equipment shall be automatically remitted directly to the Commission.
Dubbed as the National Sports Development Funds, the PSC share from these proceeds will be used to finance the country?s integrated sports development program, including the holding of national games and all other sports competitions at all levels all throughout the country, including the country?s participation in international sports events sanctioned by the International Ol??ympic Committee and the International Sports Federations.
Right now, however, Pagcor is giving just about 2.5 percent share of its net income to the PSC, way below the amount mandated by law.
?PSC is demanding for the full implementation of the law. The law is clear ? five percent from the gross income ? but Pagcor is circumventing it,?Garcia said.
For not giving the PSC share as mandated by law, Congressman Yeng Guiao filed a case against Pagcor which is still pending before the Supreme Court.
Based on the document obtained by the Phil. Daily Inquirer, Pagcor remitted just P87.089 million as PSC share for March 2016.
Pagcor posted a total gross income of about P3.6 billion for gaming operations alone during said period. The amount did not include Pagcor income from Solaire, Resorts World, etc.
?PSC share from Pagcor gaming operations should have been P180 million for the month of March 2016 alone. But what we received was less than half of that amount,? Garcia bared.
Garcia added that lack of budget is hampering the country?s sports development program.
?We need to provide our athletes nutritious food, decent allowance, the best trainings available, including topnotch trainers and coaches. Unless we can provide all this, we can never excel in any international sports competition,? Garcia said.
Under his watch, Garcia managed to minimize, if not totally curb, corruption within the PSC.
The country?s sports czar had also increased the allowance of the national players from P20,000 to P40,000 monthly. Athletes have also been receiving 13-month?s pay under his term which never happened before especially during the time of his predecessors.
For six years, under Garcia, PSC managed to save P1 billion and paid PSC?s accumulated debts over the years of around P50 million.
?I?m very strict when it comes to liquidation. We blacklist sports organization which failed to liquidate the money coming from PSC. Any sports organization which wanted to continue enjoying funding support from PSC, they should liquidate,? Garcia revealed.
According to him, many people are now jockeying for positions at the PSC ?Because it has already the money. P1 billion funds is a big money. But I hope and pray that the next President will put the right people to the PSC to continue the change I have started and to sustain the good sports program we?ve implemented.?
Not conducive?
Garcia is proposing for the transfer of the 10-hectare Rizal Memorial Sports Complex to a more conducive place.
The national training facility is located right within the heart of Manila. Traveling from and going to the venue is stressful due to traffic congestion and unhealthy because of smoke pollution. It can be observed that the place is also surrounded by sleazy bars and squatters? area.
?We proposed to President Aquino the transfer of our national sports training facility to a 50-hectare government land in Clark, but until now our proposal has not yet been approved. We really need a training facility outside of Metro Manila where there are no pollution, traffic jam, beer joints and other distractions,? Garcia said.
According to him, other countries in the world had already established their own training facilities. Only our country has not done it until now.
Garcia said he is all-out support to the proposal of winning senatorial candidate Manny Pacquiao batting for the creation of the Department of Sports.
?Creation of a separate Department of Sports would increase the PSC budget and avoid too much politicking in the country?s sports,? Garcia said.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Aquiles Z. Zonio.
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