The partnership between the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has identified urgent problems and non-existing programs that need to be addressed. Truth be told, when CHED chairman Popoy de Vera assumed his position, he discovered that there were no national sports programs at the tertiary education level. This dovetailed perfectly with the needs that PSC Chair Butch Ramirez also identified in finding young athletes who have the potential to be on the national team, and furthering learning for sports officials, among many other issues.
“On the part of the Philippine Sports Commission, it knew that the sports development of young Filipinos was not very structured, not very consistent as you move from K to 12 to higher education,” says De Vera. “Therefore, whatever plans for sports development, it did not have the institutional mechanism to help, because the various higher education institutions are not under the PSC, they’re under CHED, and for K to 12, they’re under DepEd.”
Leading universities with winning sports programs likewise have no mechanism to share their best practices with other schools. Collegiate leagues all have different schedules and sports on their programs. Aside from basketball and volleyball, there is generally no agreed-upon list of sports for competition. For example, some have swimming or arnis or dancesport, while others don’t. And in past administrations, CHED leaders did not think to link up with PSC for its formidable technical expertise in sports.
“There was no general program across types of sports,” admits De Vera, who is himself an avid cyclist. “So we will be left behind by other countries, because their universities are more active. That is an area where PSC and CHED immediately agreed to work together. On their own, the universities would not have the funds to send their coaches and their PE teachers abroad. That is where the national government can come it.”
Crucial to the seamless transition of young athletes throughout their academic lives is Republic Act No. 11470, or the National Academy of Sports (NAS) Law. It was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on June 9, 2020. The NAS Board is composed of the top officials of the Philippine Sports Commission, CHED, DepEd, and the Philippine Olympic Committee.
“We have finally passed a law to create a specialized school at the secondary level, where the focus is on the development of athletes while they are still students,” De Vera elaborates. “The responsibility of CHED is to make sure that the curriculum at the secondary level can easily be connected to whatever degree the student-athletes would want to take when they go to the higher education level.”
Having a continuous, unified, streamlined sports pipeline ensures that young Filipinos who are truly interested in sports will have a clear pathway to fulfilling, empowered lives doing what they love. And if there are also relevant continuing education curricula, short programs, certification courses and scholarships for coaches, trainers and managers of different types, being in sports can truly be a fulfilling, respected profession for anyone.