Newly-elected party-list representative Mikee Romero, outgoing PSC Chairman Richie Garcia and POC President Peping Cojuangco are one in saying that the time for the Department of Sports (DoS) has come. The insufficiency in funding for sports will be solved once the Department of Sports is created according to the three top-ranking sports officials.
But will DoS be the cure-all for sports as claimed by the three ?
Experience tell us that as long as people like Peping Cojuangco and Richie Garcia remain well-entrenched in sports, no cure for Philippine sports will be forthcoming. We simply have to take a look at what happened to Philippine Dragon Boat Federation (PDBF) and Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) to realize that Cojuangco and Garcia remain the biggest problems of Philippine sports.
PDBF remains fully supported by Cobra Energy Drink and Philippine Airlines not only because it has world champions under its fold. PDBF is so detached from Cojuangco and Garcia that private companies see it as worthy of support. Interestingly, PDBF's rival group, Philippine Canoe-Kayak Federation (PCKF), which is closely-associated with Cojuangco and Garcia, does not have a private sponsor.
What happened to PVF, on the other hand, proves that Cojuangco and Garcia are so powerful that they can destroy a well-funded and privately-sponsored sports program. The 250M sponsorship of PLDT Home Ultera and SM Group of Companies was suddenly stopped all because of Cojuangco's actions. The PVF experience is concrete proof that companies are all too willing to sponsor national teams and programs. It is the presence of unscrupulous sports leaders that scare and deter private sponsorship. Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas (LVPI), the new NSA for volleyball that Cojuangco, Romasanta, Palou and Suzara put into place does not have a private sponsor as well.
Let us not lose focus on the real solution. The biggest obstacle to the improvement of Philippine sports are not the agencies but the people behind them.
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