IT’S about time for the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) to at last seal a partnership to boost sports development at the tertiary level via a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed on March 10.
Most of us in the sports community are aware that PSC has already established a strong linkage with the Department of Education (DepEd) in recent years, the latter’s physical education (PE) teachers and coaches as among the first recipients of PSC’s National Sports Coaching Certification Course, which has also resumed during the pandemic.
Deped, too, has been availing of technical support from PSC for the standard measurement and requirements of competition venues leading to the Palarong Pambansa as well as sports equipment (either donated or borrowed), while the host local government unit (LGU) of the Palaro also receives financial assistance from the national sports agency.
Several LGUs who have sought the expertise of PSC in training their coaches for the Palaro also improved in their performances in recent years.
Thus the MOA between PSC and Ched is expected to spell a huge difference in the collegiate sports landscape as well.
PSC Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez was elated by the new partnership as he said that being a small agency, PSC cannot be effective without the help of other agencies.
“This gives us the missing link in providing a professional development in continuous sports education and will cater more to the educational aspect of our teachers in coaching,” Ramirez said in a statement.
Commission on Higher Education (Ched) Chairman Prospero De Vera III said he welcomes the MOA as it allows them to join forces with PSC in joint projects that they would initiate as they support all undertakings for tertiary sports and development.
It would be exciting to see how this PSC-Ched partnership will transform collegiate sports development in the country, although most of their ventures might only go full blast, post-pandemic. We look forward to that, considering that most members of the national teams are also collegiate athletes.
Here’s to hoping that the MOA will further strengthen our pool of national athletes for world and international competitions.