PSC vows to spend Pagcor fund wisely

The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) vows to come up with a sound financial plan to make sure that the fund coming from the uncollected remittance of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) will be spent wisely.

PSC chairman Richad “Dickie” Bachmann yesterday said he will form a technical working group composed of officials of the PSC, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), national sports associations (NSA), and Office of the President that will determine the proper allocation of fund, which reportedly amounts to around P5 billion.

He added that even members of the media will be invited to sit in the special panel to ensure the transparency of the decision-making process.

The PSC is expected to get a massive financial boost next year after the Supreme Court ordered Pagcor to remit the full 5 percent share of the PSC from its monthly gross revenue in accordance with the Republic Act 6847 — or the law that created the PSC in 1990.

Reports have it that Pagcor had been remitting only 2.14 percent since 1993 while the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) also failed to hand over 30 percent of its charity funds.

Although there was some contention from both the Pagcor and PCSO, the PSC is now preparing a plan if and when the fund, which will go to the PSC’s national sports development program, gets released next year.

“I would actually form a working group composed of those from the POC, the PSC, some NSAs to media and the Office of President so we can actually spend this and how we can actually help all the 82 sports and all of our athletes,” said Bachmann, who is in-charge of funding the expenses of around 1,600 athletes.

Bachmann said with the agency set to get a financial boost, he wants to take a more active role in the training and preparation of the national athletes in major international events, especially the Southeast Asian Games that will be held in Thailand in December of next year.

He said it will start by giving international exposure to the young athletes and members of the training pool.

“When I came in, the mandate of the PSC was to give assistance to national training pool athletes. So I’m thinking of how the youth can gain experience,” said Bachmann, who expertly managed the funding of Alaska in the Philippine Basketball Association before getting appointed as PSC chief in 2022.

“Sports nowadays, it’s not local anymore. They have to actually compete and gain experience abroad.”

“It’s tricky now because when I came in, I said, I just don’t want to be a funding agency. I want to get more involved.”