Philippine Sports Commission To Take Pagcor
Posted on November 6th, 2008
Republic Act 6847 mandates the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) to allot to the Philippine Sports Commission five per cent gross income from its revenues for the purpose of training athletes and such. During the Ramos administration, this contribution from PAGCOR was reduced to half reportedly due to the other half being channeled to the President’s Social Fund, but such practice still remains today.
According to Former Misamis Oriental Rep. Victorico “Concoy” Chaves, who was the principal author of the PSC Law, no amendments to the law were made and thus advised the PSC to file criminal and civil cases against PAGCOR for its supposed debt to PSC and the recovery of such. No wonder the country can hardly produce outstanding athletes during sporting events. How can our athletes take pride at being such when grossly corrupt government officials are misappropriating their supposed budget allocated by law.
Training athletes require not only dedication and commitment from the athletes themselves, but the support of the government as well. Which is precisely why a law has been enacted for that very same reason. Mr. Chaves must have been aghast when such funds were and still are being used for other reasons, at the hands of unethical officials whose only concern are enriching themselves.
This is an outrage that concerns not only Mr. Chaves, nor the athletes, but the whole citizenry as well. Further, it is a clear example of the blatant corruption that is so rampant and pervasive in this country. We cannot deny such meager amount to our athletes. Just imagine our disappointment during each Olympics, or Southeast Asian Games, or any other sporting event that our country participates in, and performs poorly.
This kind of disappointment is facing our athletes everyday but still, they continuously and courageously hold up the Philippine flag during these events. Let us hope that their faith do not falter as they prepare and participate at the Laos SEA Games and the Asian Youth Games in Singapore set next year.
