DESPITE the historic medal haul at the 2024 Paris Olympics, led by star gymnast Carlos Yulo and Filipina boxers Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio, Filipinos are still questioning whether it might have been handled better.
There is no doubt that the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) tried their best to handle these athletes, but there are still obvious flaws in the management of the delegates.
One of them is Filipina golfers Dottie Ardina and Bianca Pagdanganan’s uniform issues. Their uniforms did not arrive on time in Paris, forcing them to put a Philippine flag on their shirts for the competition.
Now that the Summer Games is done, everyone’s attention has shifted to the talk of the town: is this year’s performance enough to convince everyone that the Philippines still needs a ‘Department of Sports’?
How can we improve?
Ed Tolentino, a sports analyst and lawyer, argues that the POC and PSC’s jurisdictions and functions overlap, as evidenced by this year’s Summer Games. Resulting in a disorderly state of Philippine sports.
Furthermore, given that there is no Department of Sports or a single government organization for sports, the budget is split between two agencies, making it difficult for them to manage the athletes even more.
“This is the problem of Philippine sports. Too many cooks are spoiling the broth. Ang daming nagluluto, kaniya-kaniyang recipe. Minsan ang lumalabas sa ulam, panis na,” Tolentino said, highlighting what has been the problem for Philippine Sports.
“Hindi ba mas maganda iisa ang nagmamando? Mas madali ang feedback mechanism kung iisa ang ating pinagtatanungan, iisa ang may kontrol, maliwanag ang mensahe sa atleta, madali nilang maidudulog ang kanilang problema.”
What about us?
Tolentino also believes that sports have been the “least priority” of the government. This is demonstrated by the Philippine Sports Commission’s 2025 budget, which has been drastically reduced to P700 million.
Coming from a P1.152 billion budget this 2024, the sports analyst is still hopeful that the government will reconsider adding a bit more to the budget, given how the Olympians performed this year.
“Paanong hindi magiging priority we do not even have a Department of Sports. So wala man lang kasama sa Gabinete ng gobyerno. We just have a commission, which is also mapulitika, maraming alegasyon ng korupsiyon.”
“Umaangat lamang, nababanggit lamang pag may naiuwing gold medal,” Tolentino exclaimed of the current situation of sports in Philippines.
The issue of financial support has resurfaced for many athletes, especially as they prepare to participate on an international level, particularly in the Olympics.
Filipinos, on the other hand, are expecting that these athletes would be treated better in the coming years, and that they will not be forced to shell out their own money, sell personal items, or plead for donations.
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