THE Bataan provincial government led by Gov. Jose Enrique Garcia III will make a pitch for the construction of the Philippine Sports Training Center in the province with National Sports Association leaders, who were invited to inspect the site of the proposed P3.5-billion facility in Bagac, Bataan this Friday.
Philippine Olympic Committee president and Tagaytay City Mayor Abrham “Bambol” Tolentino said in a recent interview that he and other NSA officials were asked by Garcia to visit the planned PSTC at a 25-hectare property located in the town.
The Philippine Sports Training Act, or Republic Act 11214 calling for the setting up of the PSTC was passed by former President Rodrigo Duterte last Feb. 14, 2019.
Former PSC chairman Butch Ramirez signed a memorandum of agreement with then Bataan Gov. Albert Garcia, Jose Enrique’s elder brother, regarding the PSTC last May 18, while Duterte led the ground-breaking ceremony for the new training facility for national athletes last June 22.
The PSTC will have facilities for 39 sports disciplines, a conference room and quarters for the national athletes from the various disciplines who will be using it as their major training venue.
“We were invited by the Bataan provincial government to make an ocular inspection of the proposed PSTC site on Dec. 9 so I expect the NSA leaders to come over and inspect the venue on Friday,” said Tolentino, a Tagaytay lawmaker when the law was passed.
The POC chief noted the local Olympic body was not consulted when the law was crafted, which he said should have been done considering that national athletes would be the ultimate beneficiaries of the project.
Congress also has to earmark the P3.5-billion budget before construction can be started for the PSTC, which is expected to be operational in four years once the building starts.
There have been suggestions in certain sports quarters that the allocation for the PSTC could be best used to improve existing sports infrastructure such as those in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.
Besides the world-class NCC Aquatic Center and NCC Athletic Stadium, competition venues for the last 2019 30th Southeast Asian Games, the area also hosts the National Academy of Sports for budding high school athletes, which could complement the country’s overall sports program.
A reliable PSC source said there were also some “legal impediments” concerning the site of the PSTC in Bagac, Bataan that need to be threshed out before the project could be implemented there.
