PAGKATAPOS ng anim na taon ay nakatakdang linasin ni Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richie Garcia ang kanyang puwesto bukas at ibigay ang timon sa bagong pamunuan. Pinaunlakan ni Garcia ang Bandera ng isang huling panayam at ito ang kanyang sinabi.
Ano ang iyong greatest achievement bilang PSC chairman?
Well, actually marami kaming nagawa. One of them, which I am so proud of, is that we have increased the allowances of our athletes. Pag pasok ko sa PSC, P7,000 lang ang monthly allowance ng mga atleta. Ngayon, umaabot na sa P40,000. Outside of that, may P40,000 pa for training.
That is a total of P80,000. We also fought for the increase in incentives for the athletes in Congress and Senate. So, if an athlete wins a gold medal in the Olympics, he or she will now receive P10 million instead of P5 million.Dumoble na yung incentive. Sa SEA Games, from P100,000 to P300,000 ang gold medal. The differently-abled athletes of Philspada now also receive a monthly allowance. Dati, wala.
Si Butch Ramirez ang napili ni Presidente Duterte bilang susunod na PSC chairman. What do you think of Butch Ramirez?
I have worked with Butch before. I was ahead of him in PSC. We recruited him as a commissioner before. Then during the time of President Gloria, he became the chairman while I was a commissioner. He is more than qualified. His experience as PSC commissioner and chairman will serve him well. He is also an athlete and educator.
A lot of people are pushing for the creation of a Department of Sports. What’s your opinion on this?
It has pros and cons. Just because you are a department doesn’t mean money will be pouring in. A department will only work if it is well-funded. If you are a department, you will have regional offices. Ang regional offices require regional directors. So each regional director will have his or her own grassroots program. So kailangan pondohan yung grassroots program.
Pag hindi mo p[inondohan yan, walang mangyayari. Dagdag pa dun, may suweldo bawat personnel ng regional offices. If the government does not fund the regional offices adequately, then the commission will be a better option. Kunin na lang ang buong 5% ng PAGCOR para sapat ang budget to fund the grassroots program. Plus sa commission, we can generate income through rentals of our facilities. Sa department, whatever income that is generated goes to the national treasury. May advantage at disadvantage talaga.
Malapit na ang Rio Olympics. Mananalo na ba ng gintong medalya ang Pilipinas sa Rio?
There will be 11 or 12 Filipino athletes who will see action in Rio. If we win a medal, we will be very happy. The mere fact that some of our athletes qualified for the Olympics speaks highly of the talent of our athletes. Our athletes are complaining of lack of infrastructure in Rizal Memorial.
But we have decided not to renovate and upgrade the facilities in Rizal Memorial anymore because we plan to move the training center to Clark. Kaya nga may maiiwan kaming malaking pera sa PSC. Nakalaan yun sa training facility na gagawin sa Clark.
Ano ang plano mo pagkatapos ng iyong tungkulin sa PSC?
I will be back to my private life. I plan to play more golf. I will try to be around. Kasi when you leave an office, you still have some unfinished business. I can be a consultant if my services are still needed.
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