THE Philippine Sports Commission says it is striving to cover all of its commitments to athletes making their Olympic bid, even with a decreased budget.
P596 million from the sports agency’s National Sports Development Fund and P773 million funds from the General Appropriations Act (GAA) were realigned by Department of Budget and Management for Bayanihan Act, but PSC says it remains committed to supporting the Tokyo-bound Filipino athletes and others looking to secure Olympic spots.
The PSC said that for the first half of 2020, it has released more than Php 351 million to sports of top Tokyo Olympic bets.
Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) got the highest support at over P20.2 million, according to the PSC, while the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) received P13 million and the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) got P7.8 million.
Patafa has one athlete who has qualified for the Olympics in pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena, boxers Irish Magno and Eumir Marcial have also secure slots in the Tokyo Games, while gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo has also earned a place in the meet.
The PSC said in a statement that P 3.8 million has been spent to support Yulo, based in Japan, to cover his living expenses, gymnastics training, and other miscellaneous expenditures.
The Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas (SWP) received P11.2 Million, P3.8 million of which was to support the preparation of Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz.
The PSC funding said it covered her whole training camp in Malaysia for meals and allowances, including the budget for her foreign coach Kaiwen Gao and core team consisting of a sports science personnel, strength and conditioning coach, sports nutritionist, and a physical therapist.
Almost P1.3 million has been spent for pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena for the first half of 2020, according to the PSC, which also said it gave a total of almost P12.5 million to Obiena, who is currently based in Italy.
According to the PSC, it has allocated a P1.7 million budget for the national boxers from January to June 2020.
“It has been quite a challenge but we hope to keep our commitment to fund and support our athletes who have shown strong determination and chances in winning our first Olympic gold,” said PSC chairman William Ramirez.
“We are doing what we can for our national athletes. We want them to stay focused on their goals and to stay positive while aspiring for Olympic glory. We want to remind them that PSC is always here to help them achieve success in any way that is possible.” said the sports chief.
Spin fans unite at Spin Viber Community! Join the growing community now! Complete the experience by subscribing in the Spin Chatbot and download the Spin Game Sticker Pack.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
