By JADE ABERIN
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Two golds and a bronze as of this writing. While there is reason to celebrate, the country’s athletes are expected to perform better if the government would adequately fund the sports program.
In its National Expenditure Program (NEP), the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) stands to get a lower budget. It is set to receive P725 million ($12.5 million) next year compared to P1.156 billion ($19.9 million) this year.
NEP data show that the PSC’s program for amateur sports development will suffer a 50-percent decrease, receiving only P158.2 million ($2.7 million) compared to this year’s P301.34 million ($5.2 million).
The rest of the proposed PSC budget for 2025 will be allocated for the following:
- P255 million ($4.4 million) for locally funded project;
- P175 million ($3 million) for preparation, training and participation for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand;
- P56.7 million ($980,600) for the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China;
- P11.27 million for the 2025 Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-Northern Territory-East Association of Southeast Asian Nations Growth Area (BIMPNT-EAGA) Games; and
- P11.97 million ($207,000) for the upcoming Asian Youth Para Games.
On the other hand, P312.5 million ($5.4 million) is allocated for general administration and support, which is higher than the P102.97 million ($1.78 million) budget for 2024.
“[Olympic gold medalist] Caloy [Yulo] worked hard and overcame the challenge that hinders many young athletes in our country, such as the lack of government support in the field of sports,” Kabataan Partylist said in a Facebook post.
Inadequate Budget for Olympics
According to the proposed 2025 budget, funding for locally funded projects has decreased to P255 million ($4.4 million) from P752 million ($13 million) in the 2024 national budget. This is because there are no Olympics, Youth Olympics, or Paralympics next year.
Based on Department of Budget and Management (DBM) data, the government only allocates funds for the Olympics when the event is approaching.
In the 2024 Paris Olympic preparation, the government only gave P50 million ($864,800) to support “elite” athletes in 2023, while P52 million ($899.4 thousand) was given to the PSC this year for preparation, training, and participation of athletes in the said Olympics.
The two-year budget combined is lower compared to the budget given in 2021, which was P250 million ($4.3 million) for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which had to be held in 2021 because of the pandemic.
The amount was not enough for the athletes then, with then weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, the first gold medalist of the Philippines, struggled to get funding on her own.
During her preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she posted this call on social media. “Is it okay to ask private companies for sponsorship towards Tokyo 2020? I’m really struggling; I need financial support.”
This is the same case for Filipino boxer Eumir Marcial, who shared that Thirdy Ravena wanted to contribute for his bid to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as he also struggled with funds and posted on Facebook asking for donations and sponsorship.
Capital outlay least fund in PSC
In the last five years, the allocation for capital outlay is least funded in the PSC budget, or not funded at all. In both 2021 and 2022, the General Appropriations Act showed no funding for capital outlay or funds which can be used to build sports facilities.
In 2023, Philippine Sport Commission Chair Richard Bachmann said that they need better training facilities. “I can say that there are a lot of improvements to be done.”
Even with these financial constraints, the PSC is facing a significant budget cut of P431 million in the proposed 2025 budget. While athletes struggle to secure funding for international competitions, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is allocated P1.054 billion for travel expenses in the same proposed budget. (JJE, RTS, DAA) 
