Reporter

PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. is batting for a Cabinet portfolio for the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) so that it would have a stronger voice in the government setup.

“It’s now high time for [Philippine] sports to have someone who could personally voice out the condition of our athletes and other sports-related issues in every Cabinet meeting,” said Cojuangco.

Under the present structure, the PSC, although the only leading government sports agency, is under the Office of the President. Its chairman holds the rank of a Cabinet undersecretary and does not join regular and critical Cabinet meetings in Malacańang. The PSC was created in 1990 by virtue of Republic Act 6847.

“But the President can appoint the PSC chairman as presidential adviser for sports so that he can attend all the Cabinet meetings and, eventually, serve as the voice of sports in the government,” he explained.

Cojuangco said Congress could file a bill creating a Department of Sports, “but it would take time to prosper.”

“For the meantime, a PSC chairman is a good choice to act as presidential adviser for sports because he has all the knowledge of what is going on in the sports scene,” Cojuangco said.

Incumbent PSC chairman William Ramirez welcomed the idea.

“That’s a very good idea that our sports should be represented in the Cabinet meetings so that we can directly voice out to the President the real condition of Philippine sports,” Ramirez said.

Recently, Senate President Manny Villar urged sports leaders to make radical changes in improving what he described as “the ailing condition” of Philippine sports.

“The condition of Philippine sports can be likened to an ailing patient who needs resuscitation.  We have to work together to regain the old glory of Philippine sports,” Villar said. 

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