Angara pushes for modern sports complex for national athletes, coaches

Senator Juan Edgardo Angara is pushing for the creation of a state-of-the-art and highly scientific sports complex for the country's 800 national athletes and 300 coaches.

Angara said the proposed Philippine Amateur Sports Training Center, which will be created under his Senate Bill 2371, will be the venue for high-level training and total wellness of national athletes.

"While we are requiring our national athletes to excel in competitions and bring honor to the country, they should also be adequately supported," he said in a press statement Monday.

"A training center that is furnished with state-of-the-art training equipment, technology, facilities and modern amenities will definitely result to our athlete's better performance in the Olympics and other national and international competitions," the senator added.

Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Games, Amusement and Sports, said the proposed training center will be the new and much-needed home and venue for elite training of the country's athletes.

Aside from training athletes and coaches, the proposed national sports training institution will also be tasked to contribute to sports science and research development.

Under the bill, P2 billion will be allocated for construction of the training institution and thereafter, P55 million will be appropriated to finance its maintenance, operation and management. It will be exempt from payment of all taxes, fees, assessments and other charges of the government.

The Philippine Sports Commission will be given the ownership, administration, management, operation, and maintenance of the center.

"This bill taken together with the other measures addressing sports advancement shall provide an integrated grassroots to elite sports development platform intended to provide our athletes a long-term and sustainable state support to perform well in international tournaments and represent our country with pride and honor. This is truly an investment of belief and confidence in Filipino athletes as they carry the torch for our country in international tournaments," Angara said.

The senator said the state of sports development in the country has been neglected for the past years as shown by rundown sports facilities such as the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, which was built 86 years ago, and the Philsports Arena, which is now 40 years old.

"Primarily, the problem besetting our sports sector is funding, which explains the state of our sports facilities," he added.

The PSC's P750-million annual budget from PAGCOR and the national government pales in comparison to Thailand's equivalent budget of P13 billion, Singapore P6.5 billion, and Indonesia and Malaysia at P4 billion each, said Angara.

"PSC's budget is only enough to sustain its operations and programs. No amount is allocated for establishing new structures, not even for repairs. In fact, in 2013, the much-needed rehabilitation of the Rizal Memorial amounting to P14 million came from PSC's savings," he said. — Amita Legaspi/JDS, GMA News