Thursday, January 15, 2009 Escudero to PSC, NSAs: Clear funding guidelines
SENATOR Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Tuesday reiterated his call for a more responsible spending of limited government resources in sports.
Escudero said both the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the various national sports associations (NSAs) should share the burden and responsibilities in accounting for the money allocated to them yearly.
He added that the PSC should initiate talks with NSAs leaders to clear its guidelines on the liquidation of cash advances, which he blamed for causing the rift between the government agency and many other sports stakeholders.
"The PSC should diffuse the tension between them and the NSA leaders," Escudero said. "There is very little time left before our athletes embark on yet another important tournament, the Southeast Asian Games in Laos, yet we are still stuck on this mess. The athletes are left to fend for themselves."
The senator reminded the PSC and NSAs that sports remains a unifying factor for Filipinos despite their differences in religion, political belief and economic status and sports leaders should leave no room for politics in their environment.
The PSC-NSA squabble on funding has dragged on since late last year. The PSC remains hot on the trail of NSAs who failed to liquidate government cash assistance.
PSC Chairman William "Butch" Ramirez also warned the NSAs of possible court cases on the initiative of the Office of the Ombudsman, which wanted sports associations to report on funding received from the PSC in the past.
Many NSA leaders, however, have yet to liquidate their cash advances despite repeated warnings from the PSC.
