By WAYLON GALVEZ
Philippine Sports Commission chairman Butch Ramirez will lead officials for another round of talks with Local Government Units (LGUs) in a meeting in Baguio City to improve the grassroots sports programs of various provinces.
The meeting between the PSC and its LGU counterparts is the fourth stop in the launching of the Philippine Sports Institute (PSI) which will identify future athletes for the national team.
Ramirez and his team have already visited Davao City and Naga, as well as Pangasinan, where the PSI was unfurled last month by the PSC.
“We will go to every city and municipality and help them set up a genuine sports program,” said Ramirez during his visit in Pangasinan. “If we put our efforts in the grassroots program, the number of Filipino elite athletes will grow in five years time.”
The idea of the PSI program calls for the empowerment of the LGUs in identifying sports disciplines between 5 to 10 with the PSC providing financial support starting from the grassroots level.
Athletes who would excel will get top priority and they would be included in the national training pool of their respective fields.
According to PSI national training director Marc Velasco the number of athletes would more than double with the talent discovery project of the government in the countryside.
Ramirez is encouraging the LGUs to set up the sports program in preparation for regional tournaments and the national championship of the Batang Pinoy and Philippine National Games later this year.
The government sports agency is likewise asking the LGUs to help in appealing PAGCOR in restoring the five percent due to the PSC under the Republic Act 6847.
