PHILIPPINE Sports Commission Chairman Butch Ramirez yesterday said the agency will ask Congress to double the budget it needs for the country’s participation in the rescheduled Vietnam Southeast Asian Games next year.
“We will ask Congress to double the budget because the PSC, Philippine Olympic Committee and the National Sports Associations involved have a vision that the Philippines will not finish lower than third in the Vietnam SEA Games,” Ramirez said inan online press briefing.
“Palaban si Cong. Bambol (Tolentino). Bakbakan ‘yan. Kung mapabayaan natin ‘yan, expect fifth or sixth place in the next SEA Games,” Ramirez said, referring to the Philippine Olympic Committee president’s goal in the 31st edition of the regional meet.
A total of 626 athletes in 39 sports were gearing up to see action in the meet originally set on Nov. 21 to Dec. 2 in Hanoi. But Vietnamese hosts appealed for the postponement of the games to early next year due to the rising COVID-19 cases across the region.
The SEA Games Federation Council unanimously approved Vietnam’s request during its emergency council virtual meeting last June 8.
Ramirez and Tolentino were the co-architects in the country’s success in regaining the SEA Games overall crown two years ago with a bumper crop harvest of 149 gold, 117 silver and 121 bronze medals in 56 sports.
Ramirez said they still have P150 million remaining from the P200 million earlier released by the Department of Budget and Management for the country’s participation in the Vietnam Games
“We will use the money in resuming actual training in August,” Ramirez said.
He said they were forced to ask Congress again for help in the country’s international sports commitments since the monthly remittances of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp to the PSC’s National Sports Development fund “has been greatly diminished.”
