MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Sports Commission will sit down with the various national sports associations beginning Thursday to take up the NSAs’ respective budgets for 2018.
PSC chairman William Ramirez said the PSC will be firm in enforcing a new policy that the budget for each NSA will depend on the performance of its athletes in the international arena.
The 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur last August will serve as one of the bases.
“The annual budget of the NSAs will not only depend on their corresponding programs but based on performance,” said Ramirez.
“We will divide the NSAs into tier one, two and three, depending on how they perform,” he added ahead of the meetings that will take a full week.
Athletics topped the medal chart for the Philippine campaign in the last SEA Games with five gold medals and a total of 18 podium finishes, followed by billiards and snooker, boxing, gymnastics, judo, taekwondo and triathlon with two each. Seven other NSAs delivered a gold medal for a total of 24 for the country.
“These NSAs can expect bigger budgets because they have athletes that deliver,” said Ramirez.
The PSC chief, this early, is looking forward to the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, and wants the performing NSAs to identify 25 to 30 athletes that will receive full funding from the PSC.
“All the way up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” he said.
However, the PSC chief stressed that the non-performing NSAs will continue to receive support from the government agency.
Ramirez is also calling on the NSA presidents to attend the meetings. Otherwise, the NSAs may find it difficult to get what they want for next year.
He cited as an example Mark Joseph, the president of the Philippine Swimming, who has not been visible for some time now, and yet has continued to hold on to the position.
“If the (NSA) president is not present then we will require an official communication,” said Ramirez.
Ramirez also warned erring NSA heads that the PSC will be firmer in enforcing its policies.
“If they don’t change, sasagasaan namin sila (we will run them over),” he said.