Sometime in December of 2018, Congress and Senate jointly passed a law that would benefit national athletes and those on the national training pool. Simply known as Republic Act 11214 or the Philippine Sports Training Center Act, it was approved and signed into law by Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte last February 14, 2019.
As a backgrounder, RA 11214 requires the establishment of a state-of-the-art and highly scientific sports complex that will serve as the center for development and training of our national athletes and those included on the national training pool. It will likewise serve as a training venue for coaches and referees.
The complex, if it hopefully sees daylight, will complement the existing modern sports complex at the New Clark City where the 30th SEA Games were recently held. It can also host local and international sporting competitions.
The PSTC complex, if plans are to be followed accordingly, will have facilities for Olympic and non-Olympic sports. It will also include dormitories for coaches and athletes, accommodation for guests, an administration building, conference hall, a cafeteria, library, a medical center, lecture rooms, a worship room among others.
Administration, management, operation and maintenance will be given to the Philippine Sports Commission so in other words, everything and anything within the complex will be owned and operated by the PSC. An Executive Director will be appointed by the PSC Chairman to handle the daily operations of the PSTC.
A total of p3.5 billion (ehem, good luck with this) was appropriated for the establishment and construction of the PSTC main complex somewhere in Pangasinan with some of the facilities to be built at neighboring Tarlac. This is supposedly scheduled to break ground this year and to be completed in two years. Well and good, and as I said earlier, would hopefully be realized.
I wish that the PSC will also identify regions where a particular sport is popular. Admittedly, Western Visayas is a football hotbed and high-tech training center with European coaches would serve the region well and will benefit aspiring footballers in the Visayas and Mindanao areas.
It has been a while since we heard of a skatepark to be built but I suppose that talk was all panuhot-inspired hopefully. Maybe, with the two Cebuano skateboarders who did well at the SEAG, a huge and loud pangutot will be made to expel the bad air and somewhere, somehow a skatepark willmaterialize.
I also wish, that squabbling among the heads of NSAs will finally be put to an end and hatchets buried, not on each other’s backs but somewhere never to be found. However, considering the highly politicized structure of our sporting agencies, it’s just wishful thinking. Most likely, people will be jostling and shoving, yes, with sharpened hatchets and swords, for the position of the PSTC Executive Director. Hala bira!
As they say, hope springs eternal. Let’s just wish that our success in the recent SEAG will inspire our sporting leaders to uplift the well-being and standards of our athletes and give them the resources to be competitive with the rest of the world.