Sports is supposed to be a unifying factor but in this fractured nation, it has, unfortunately, been used as a divide. For the Olympics, we were briefly united but now, it’s back to regular programming.
Consider the outcry gained by Harry Roque’s statement that it was no coincidence that we got our best Olympic performance under Duterte, considering the billions he has invested in sports. Roque’s dismissive tongue is one of the factors that divide our country and his creative explanation after every late Monday talk show is the stuff for memes, but in this case, he’s right.
I know at one point the allowance for Class A athletes (the gold medalists, grandmasters and world champions) was at P33,000 and the Class B athletes at P20,000. I’ve been searching online when it was raised. In a 2016 article, former Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Ritchie Garcia said he was content with what they have achieved because the Class A allowance was raised to P40,000 at the end of his term. In 2018, the current chairman Butch Ramirez raised that to P45,000 and the Class B athletes allowance was raised to P40,000.
So yes, under this term, athletes are lucky because they got more in allowance than the previous admin. Just like athletes in the previous administration were luckier than those in President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s era.
The big factor behind that is the PSC itself. Under the administration of President Noynoy Aquino, it was perceived that the one who really held sway in Philippine sports was the former POC chairman, Peping Cojuangco, who many credited to having Garcia appointed as PSC chairman. Proof of that was among the first expenses of that PSC in 2010 was the reimbursement of POC’s expenses in the 2008 Olympics. So those in the good graces of the POC get to enjoy perks from the PSC.
Under Duterte, it’s the PSC chairman who has the final say in where the funds should go and the soft-spoken Davaoeno was never hesitant in the past to channel funds directly to athletes and among those who benefited was Hidilyn Diaz.
I remember back in 2017, during a visit to Cebu, Chairman Ramirez said they were supporting a team for Diaz—a sports psychologist, nutritionist and a coach—which was a first.
Yes, Diaz, at some point asked for help and that has been used against the admin’s claim of “investing in the athletes.” I don’t know what happened in 2019, but I do remember the PSC quickly stepped in.
Diaz will be asked repeatedly about that and while in an ideal world for some, athletes like her should make their political stance known, but I think it would be better to let her be a symbol of Olympic success. A unifying figure.
Of course, the administration will use her as a symbol but that’s to be expected. I just hope the admin critics don’t take it against her or any of the other Olympians when they are used for things that they don’t train for.
As for Harry Roque, I hope he learns from the athletes. These guys compete for a country, not the government. They wear the colors of the flag in their uniform, not just one particular color.