By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Bataan Province will donate 25 hectares of land to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for the construction of the Philippine Sports Training Center (PSTC).
PSC officials headed by chairman Butch Ramirez will sign the memorandum of agreement with Bataan Governor Albert Garcia for the deed of the land donation on Tuesday, May 17, in Bataan.
Invited to witness the signing is Sen. Bong Go, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports.
President Duterte has approved the construction of the PSTC in February 2019 under Republic Act 11214, where it hopes to “achieve excellence in international sports competitions, to ensure success in the country’s quest to achieve competitiveness in the Olympic Games.”
Ramirez thanked the province for the donation and said the construction of the PSTC is a long-term goal for aspiring and elite national athletes.
“It is our vision that we can provide these basic sports structures for our youth and country,” Ramirez told Manila Bulletin-Tempo.
“(It also serves as a) double purpose, just like our three sports gyms now are being used by COVID-19 facilities and other purposes as required by the government,” he added, referring to the Rizal Memorial Basketball Stadium, Ninoy Aquino Stadium and Philsports Arena which are currently being used as temporary medical facilities during this pandemic.
Under the law, the PSTC will also “serve as the official home and primary venue for the development of athletes in the National Team and its corresponding training pools.”
According to the law, sports facilities and amenities expected to be built include a baseball field, beach volleyball courts, bowling center, football field, gymnastics center, multi-purpose gym, multi-purpose field including but not limited to archery range, BMX track, lawnballs and petanque field, rugby pitch, skeet and trap range, softball field, track and field oval, tennis courts, and velodrome.
Sports facilities for 30 Olympic and non-Olympic sports are also included. Among those are aquatics, archery, athletics, basketball, boxing, weightlifting, taekwondo, wushu, wrestling and volleyball, to name a few.
The government will appropriate P3.5 billion to fund the construction.
