PSC chairman William Ramirez said the journey of Philippine sports will be "rough and difficult" but he sees "big hope" in the horizon.
Ramirez made the assessment of the plight of the country's sports programs during the launch of the Philippine Sports Institute (PSI) at the Philsports Complex on Monday in Pasig.
"Saan na ba tayo?" asked Ramirez as he addressed athletes and coaches, sports and government officials, and members of the media.
The PSC head believes "there is hope for us," noting that the solution is a combination of sports science which addresses "the demands of the time" and the "best prescription" in the establishment of regional training centers that would handle grassroots sports programs.
Ramirez said sports science will focus on sports psychology, sports nutrition, sports medicine and machines the PSC would purchase in the next six months and would combine in a "modern high-performance area" housed in a sports science building inside the complex.
Assisting the PSC with the PSI will be experts from Australia and South Korea.
Ramirez believes it will take five years to establish an institute.
The PSC chief shared a 2:30 a.m. call from President Duterte urging him to form "united, strong Philippine teams."
"'Butch balik ka sa sports. Unite mo Philippine sports. Ikaw ang masusunod at ayusin mo para sa bayan,'" Ramirez quoted Duterte as saying.
"Ayusin mo atleta. Ikaw na umayos."
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