WHILE admitting that its run under the current administration is anything but perfect, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) is nonetheless happy over what it has achieved and looking to build on the gains it has had and finish strong.

Anchored on a five-year development plan, the PSC said that, by and large, it succeeded in seeing its mission and vision through under the government of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

“I think we have built legacies that we are happy to leave and for others to follow through on,” said PSC Chairman William Ramirez as he gave the agency’s yearend report in December.

“It’s not 100%, but I believe we have been able to put up strong points,” he added.

Mr. Ramirez shared that since they took office, they have made the PSC a better organization, enhancing its capability and accountability to lead, manage, implement, and assess sports programs in the country.

It also was able to highlight the important role that sports play in personal and community development and the need to shore up the country’s grassroots development push by making sports more accessible with the end view of producing globally competitive athletes.

The institutionalization of Philippine Sports Institute, the country’s training, educational and research center, is another development that they are proud of, Mr. Ramirez said, as it complemented the PSC’s programs geared towards the development of grassroots sports, high-performance sports, and professional development of sports practitioners.

Since 2016, the PSC has also managed to fix sports facilities worn out by time under its watch, including the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and Philsports Multipurpose Complex, while at the same erecting some new ones.

And there are the linkages it has formed with various organizations and agencies, which Mr. Ramirez said has gone a long way in the agency successfully fostering good relationships to make things happen.

“I think our biggest achievement is the creation of a sports development highway in the Philippines, where we have coordinators assigned to different places in the country and the PSC establishing partnerships with LGUs (local government units) and DepED (Department of Education). These partnerships are very important in seeing our various programs succeed,” the PSC chief said.

Mr. Ramirez also lauded the national athletes’ performance in international competitions of late, including the 2018 Asian Games and the 2019 Southeast Asian Games (SEA), where they did well and improved on their previous showing.

It is something the PSC hopes will continue this year in the Tokyo Olympics and SEA Games in Vietnam.

For the remaining one and a half years, Mr. Ramirez said it is about staying the course amid the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic.

“In our remaining time, we will continue to navigate and review what we have put up, so we can provide a good plan for the next PSC officials to follow. The issue with the pandemic makes it tougher, but with partnerships with DepEd, the Philippine Olympic Committee, the national sports associations, and others, I think we will be able to accomplish that,” he said. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

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