Five gold medals.

This was the prediction of Philippine Sports Commissioner William "Butch" Ramirez yesterday on the number of gold medals the country would bring home in the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar in December.

Ramirez said that in the upcoming Asiad, PSC is targeting five gold medals, which is two higher when the Filipino athletes claimed three golds in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. The RP squads in boxing, taekwondo, archery, billiards and bowling have the biggest chances to take the gold, Ramirez said.

He said that he met with the Philippine Olympic Committee officials last week proposing that the RP contingent should only be composed of 150 athletes and 80 officials.

PSC wants a "lean and mean" delegation rather than a huge contingent that will not be productive in the medal-tally, he added.

Ramirez said the RP delegation will need between P30-P60 million for its Asian Games preparations including a six-month training that would have international exposures. The Asiad will also be used as a preparation for the country's participation in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where it aims to snare its first gold, he said.

The Asian Games is almost like the Olympics because sporting powerhouse countries like China, Japan, Kazakhstan and Korea are also seeing action in the Asiad, he added.

Ramirez said the Philippines is also capable of winning its first Olympic gold with proper strategy and planning, and more international exposures for its athletes. Boxing and taekwondo, where RP has won silvers in the past, along with archery will be the most potential sports where the Philippines could win the Olympic gold, he said.

Meanwhile, Ramirez said he hopes that the Department of Budget and Management will allot more than P28 million for the 2006 budget of PSC.

A P28 million budget for PSC will only be enough for the annual salaries of its employees, he said.

He said that the PSC needs at least P58 million for its annual budget, which will be finalized by the House of Representatives and the Senate during their bicameral meeting within the month.

After winning the overall championship of the Southeast Asian Games for the first time last year, I think that the PSC should be given more financial support rather than be penalized by allotting a minimal budget for it, he said.

Ramirez, however, said that money would always only be second to the good sports leaders that the country should have.

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