AHEAD of President Rodrigo Duterte's final State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) released a 10-point list touting the government's sports legacy.
The government arm for sports shared on its social media pages the accomplishments that the Duterte administration gave to the sports community, spearheaded by two landmark laws.
These are Republic Act No. 11214 which paved the way for the establishment of the Philippine Sports Training Center, signed on Feb. 14, 2019; and Republic Act No. 11470 creating the National Academy of Sports, signed on June 15, 2020.
Duterte himself mentioned these last year — a rare mention of sports in the president's address.
Aside from these laws, the PSC also flaunted the implementation of Republic Act No. 10699, which provides discount privileges for national team athletes and coaches.
All of these PSC initiatives were done under the Duterte administration were done through the leadership of chairman William 'Butch' Ramirez.
The PSC also noted that the administration advocated for a stronger grassroots program, noting that "Batang Pinoy recorded the biggest number of participants since its inception."
It also announced that it had successful placed paraathletes on an equal footing with regular athletes in terms of allowance rates.
The government has also spent P2.7-billion in foreign trainings, allowances, equipment, and similar necessities, which helped send 19 athletes to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and six paraathletes to the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Rehabilitation of different sports facilities like the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Philsports Arena, and Ninoy Aquino Stadium were all done under Ramirez's watch as the country successfully hosted the 30th Southeast Asian Games back in 2019.
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The PSC also touted two cycles of the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame, as 10 sports icons were inducted in 2018 and 2021.
The staging of the National Sports Summit, which gathered "feedback and input from different demographics of society in 25 sessions tackling different sports topics," was also a source of pride.
These sessions, the agency said, had the end goal of creating resolutions that will help pave the way for the next administration's sports initiatives.
Also, the PSC under the Duterte presidency took pride on a stronger presence in special interest sectors through projects on Women in Sports, Children's Games, and Indigenous People's Games.
And lastly, it brandished the sport sector's active participation on national government projects, like the usage of facilities like the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Ninoy Aquino Stadium, and Philsports Arena as COVID-19 care centers, as well as the funding of the rehabilitation of Mindanao State University's track oval through the Sports for Peace program on the heels of the Marawi siege.
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