AIMING to hasten its construction, the Philippine Sports Commission late Wednesday night approved the long-delayed implementing rules and regulations of the planned Philippine Sports Training Center that will serve as the future home of national athletes and coaches.
The PSC board led by chairman Patrick “Pato” Greogorio and Commissioners Bong Coo, Fritz Gaston, Ed Hayco and Walter Torres, unanimously approved the IRR in keeping with the requirements of Republic Act 11214, or the PSTC law, that was passed in 2019.
“The IRR for the Philippine Sports Training Center reflects our commitment to the holistic development of our Philippine national athletes and coaches,” said Gregorio after the marathon meeting.
Principal authors of the law were Senators Sonny Angara, now the Education Secretary, and Bong Go, and which will have an allotment of P3.5 billion for its construction provided under the General Appropriations Act or national budget.
The law provides that, among others, the PSTC will serve as the “official home and primary venue for the development of athletes in the National Team and its corresponding training pools included in the list of sports contemplated therein.”
This will be done “through the use of scientific principles and programs, proven training techniques, and modern equipment and facilities that are at par with international standards.”
Besides dormitories for athletes and coaches, among the facilities that will be built inside the PSTC complex will be an Olympic-size or 50-meter swimming pool and a track and field oval for the centerpiece sports of the Olympic Games.
There will also be a baseball field, bowling center, football field, rugby field, velodrome, beach volleyball courts, tennis courts, multi-purpose gym, weight training building, medical center and guest villas, among others.
Under RA 11214, athletes and coaches in 38 sports initially would be catered to at the PSTC, namely: archery, aquatics, armis, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, billiard and snooker, BMX and cyclin, bowling, boxing, chess, dancesport, fencing, floorball, football, futsal, handball, gymnastics, jiu-jitsu, judo, karatedo, lawn tennis, muay thai, pencak silat, petanque, rugby, sambo, shooting, softball, soft tennis, squash, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling.
The law, however, provides that “any other sport, with duly accredited and recognized national sports association, not listed herein, shall be made part of the PSTC sports training and development program, as deemed significant and necessary by the PSC.”
Gregorio said that “the IRR will be filed at the Office of the National Administrative Register in the University of the Philippines Law Center in Diliman, Quezon City” as part of the process needed to get the PSTC ball rolling.
He added that it will provide periodic assessment reports to the House Committee on Youth and Sports Development and the Senate Committee on Sports on the progress leading to the actual construction and location of the PSTC.
Further funds for the operation and maintenance of the PSTC will also be included in the succeeding national budgets once the complex is running, as proposed by the government sports agency, according to Gregorio.
