THE Philippines Sports Commission has earmarked P175,093 million for the country’s preparations, training and participation in the 33rd Thailand Southeast Asian Games in December from the P1.275 billion PSC budget in the 2025 General Appropriations Act approved and signed by President Marcos Jr. last Dec. 30.
With the allotment, Filipino campaigners hope to improve on their fifth overall finish in the 32nd Cambodia SEA Games last year when they returned home with 58 gold, 85 silver and 117 bronze medals.
A total of P56.666,000 was set aside for the build-up and participation of the Philippines in the 9th Asian Winter Games set Feb. 7 to 14 in Harbin, China, with the PH delegation composed of 20 athletes- 10 men and 10 women – in six disciplines.
Based on the roster released by the Philippine Olympic Committee under the fresh four-year-term of reelected POC President and Tagaytay Mayor Bambol Tolentino, the curling team is made up of siblings Marc Angelo, Enrico Gabriela and Jessica Pfister, Christian Patrick Haller, Alan Beat Frei, BenjoDelarmente, Kathleen and Leilani Dubberstein Sheila Mariano and Anne Marie Bonachie.
Paolo Borromeo, Sofia Frank and Caitlyn Limketkai will see action in the individual figure skating event while Isabella Gamez and newly naturalized partner Alexander Korovin will compete in the pair skating competition.
Francis Ceccarelli and Tallulah Proulx will vie in the men’s and women’s alpine skiing event, respectively, while the other Asian Winter Games athletes are short track speed skater Peter Groseclose, snowboarder Adrian Tongco and freestyle skier LaetazAmihanRabe.
It will mark the fourth time that the Philippines will compete in the Asian Winter Games, with the Pinoy standard-bearers hoping to end a 35-year title drought in the meet since making their debut in the 1990 edition in Sapporo Japan.
Also set in the PSC 2025 budget is P11.97 million for the national para youth athletes who will vie in the Asian Youth Para Games set Sept. 1 to 10 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan as well as P11.27 million for the country’s standard-bearers in the BIMP-EAGA Friendship Games also set this year.
A huge chunk of the government sports agency’s budget amounting to P404.4 million will go to “financial assistance to athletes, including community sports development, sportsfests and sports activities,” while the third edition of the Reserve Officer Training Corps Games was given P80 million.
One of the flagship PSC’s flagship projects, the Philippine National Games will get P20 million and the “National Sport for All-Grassroot Centerpiece Program” was awarded P89.629 million in the PSC budget.
“Policy and Program Formulation and Amateur Sport Development and Promotion” was allotted P88.620 million while P312.501 million was set aside for “General Administration and Support.”
The PSC’s budget in the GAA is separate from the National Sports Development it gets from the remittances of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and Philippine Racing Commission.
The funds are expected to rise following the ruling of the Supreme Court restoring the full five percent of Pagcor remittances to the PSC as mandated by Republic Act 6847, the PSC law of 1990, which will be the subject of a dialog between the PSC and the Office of the President this year, according to PSC chairman Richard Bachmann.
