Philippine Sports Commission gets P842 million boost from Pagcor

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Sports Commission chairman William Ramirez yesterday announced a donation amounting to P842 million from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).

Ramirez said during the weekly PSA Forum at the Amelie Hotel Manila that the amount will be used to renovate and restore existing sports facilities under the government’s care.

Venues like the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila and PhilSports in Pasig will undergo a major facelift.

The historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum along Vito Cruz will benefit the most. For the first time in its existence, the 8,000-seat venue will be air-conditioned, and made more suitable to host events like the UAAP and NCAA. The Ninoy Aquino Stadium will also be renovated.

Ramirez said the PSC will soon identify the other venues, numbering at least 10, that will benefit from the dole-out from Pagcor under its chairman Andrea Domingo.

“We will make sure that these venues will be ready as back-up venues for the SEA Games in November,” said Ramirez.

“The Pagcor chairman was very generous with this, and I have informed President Duterte about it,” added the PSC chairman.

Included in the plan are the improvement and construction of new dining halls for the athletes and coaches, medical building and even a chapel.

The track oval and aquatics center in both the RMSC and PhilSports will undergo major renovation.

“You will not recognize them after the renovation. Magbabago na talaga inside and out,” said Ramirez, who clarified that the P842 million is separate from the monthly remitance of Pagcor to the PSC.

“Also, it’s not part of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) budget for the SEA Games,” added Ramirez.