The Negros Occidental Provincial Sports and Development Office will present its proposed budget for the 2006 provincial mass-based sports program to the provincial government this week, Manuel De Oro, officer-in-charge of the PSDO, said yesterday.

De Oro said the PSDO is confident that the budget for the grassroots project will be approved by the provincial government, headed by Gov. Joseph Marañon, because the governor has always been supportive when it comes to sports. The allocation for the three disciplines --- athletics, swimming and boxing --- that were launched by the PSDO in the different towns and cities in Negros last year averaged P60,000 per sport, De Oro said.

With the proposal of including chess and table tennis in this year's provincial grassroots project, the proposed budget for the 2006 mass-based sports program will be pegged at around P300,000, he said.

The PSDO and sports coordinators of the local government units are also meeting on how to stage the chess and table tennis hostilities in case these will be approved by the provincial government, he added.

Chess and table tennis are being proposed to be included in this year's provincial sports programs since these disciplines have been deteriorating because of lack of tournament exposures, he said, adding that they are easier to organize because they are individual events.

De Oro said taekwondo, which was also planned to be included in the proposed additional sports, will not be staged anymore in the mass-based grassroots project because the discipline has already gained the enthusiasm of aspiring athletes. PSDO is also planning to include minor events like archery in its future mass-based sports programs, he said.

The provincial sports office launched its boxing, swimming and athletics programs in the cities of Kabankalan, Bago, Sagay, Escalante and Talisay and in Ilog town last year. *CIT

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