Peping lists three requests for Duterte

MANILA, Philippines - POC president Jose Cojuangco Jr. said the other day if ever he is asked to prioritize three requests related to sports for incoming Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, the wish list will be to put up a national training center, preferably at the Clark Freeport Zone, to retain the PSC with one of four commissioners nominated by the POC and to apply the law in mandating PAGCOR and the PCSO to remit the appropriate amounts to the PSC.

Cojuangco said establishing a national training center is long overdue. A 50-hectare site has been identified for the purpose at Clark with an initial estimate of P3 to 3.5 Billion to construct the multi-sport facility. Alternative sites are in Tagaytay and Tanauan.

“Clark is the perfect location,” said Cojuangco. “It’s close to an international airport and it’s not that far from Manila. We’ve looked at the site. For some reason, higher-ups in government are blocking it.” With the change in administration, Cojuangco said he hopes Duterte will back up the plan.

Cojuangco said there’s no compelling reason to abolish the PSC and put up a Department of Sports. His preference is to retain the PSC structure with the POC nominating one of four commissioners to maintain continuity and linkage.

“If there are advantages to establishing a Department of Sports, I’d like to know,” said Cojuangco. “With the PSC, there is a law that stipulates an amount to be remitted by PAGCOR and PCSO. That’s a guaranteed allocation. Additionally, the PSC receives an amount from Congress through the General Appropriations Act. If those pushing for a Department of Sports think that it will necessarily mean a bigger budget, they’re wrong. If the PSC is abolished, then the allocation from PAGCOR and PCSO will go. A Department of Sports will submit a budget to Congress every year and you’re not sure how much will be allocated. From the point of view of funding, the advantage is in sticking to the PSC.”

Cojuangco also pointed out that Departments in the Cabinet are devolved, meaning functions are decentralized down to the provincial level. “With a Department of Sports, it’s possible that political appointees will be assigned the task of carrying out the functions at the provincial level and some of them may not know what to do,” he said. “If the justification for a Department of Sports is the secretary will be in the Cabinet and therefore, can influence the prioritization of sports, you can also do that with the PSC which is under the office of the president. Actually, the president has the authority to appoint an adviser with Cabinet rank. For instance, I was once in the Cabinet as presidential adviser for food security. So you don’t need a Department of Sports to be represented in the Cabinet.”

Cojuangco said he has worked with three PSC chairmen during his three terms as POC president – Butch Ramirez, Harry Angping and Richie Garcia. Ramirez is returning to the position as Duterte’s choice. “Butch knows his sports,” said Cojuangco. “I’ve worked with him before and during his term as PSC chairman, we won the overall championship of the Southeast Asian Games in 2005 with our country hosting. I’m hoping the POC is allowed to nominate one of four commissioners. With Richie, we were able to work closely together and it’s important for sports to move forward with the partnership of the POC and PSC.”

Under Garcia, Cojuangco said the PSC flourished. “Richie did a good job,” he said. “For the first time, NSAs submitted budgets to the PSC for review. It wasn’t just the PSC allocating funds but the NSAs justifying their budgets. There was a focus on youth which is the direction of the future.”

Finally, Cojuangco said there must be strict compliance of the law by PAGCOR and PCSO in remitting the mandated amounts to the PSC. No more, no less. Since 1993, PAGCOR has been remitting only 2.1375 percent of its gross income to the PSC when the law clearly stipulates five percent. The receivable from PAGCOR is now over P10 Billion. As for PCSO, it is required to remit 30 percent from six sweepstakes or lottery draws to the PSC annually. PCSO has not complied with the formula since 2006. Former Pampanga Gov. Yeng Guiao has pushed for compliance and brought the issue up to the Supreme Court.  

Cojuangco was disappointed with the recent unceremonious exit of the last three boxers trying to qualify for Rio. Nesthy Petecio was bundled out in her first bout at the AIBA Women’s World Championships in Astana last month. Then, Ian Clark Bautista and Eumir Marcial were dismissed in their opening fights at the AIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Baku last week. A fourth contender Mario Fernandez backed out because of a cataract in his left eye. The Philippines will be represented in Rio by boxers Charly Suarez and Rogen Ladon.

“We lost because of conditioning and coaching,” he said. “I’ve always pushed for the recruitment of a coach to stay three to five months in the country. I also believe that our boxers should be given the right supplements and nutrition to stay in shape. I know my boxing as I was trained by (former Olympic coach) Aling Enriquez during my Ateneo days. I remember Aling used to put a toothpick in the cradle of my arms and if it dropped while punching the heavy bag, he smacked me with a glove. In Eumir’s case, he’s basically a jab-straight fighter and in today’s Olympics, you can’t win with just that combination. I never agreed with the 18-day training trip to Oakland, Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the first place. Anyone who has travel experience will tell you it’s exhausting and you don’t want your boxers to go through that. It’s not just the food issue but also traveling long hours from one place to another which is tiring.”