The Philippine Olympic Committee will continue to look for private sponsors to finance the country’s preparation for the first ever World Youth Olympic Games slated in December in Singapore.

POC deputy secretary general and swimming president Mark Joseph told sportswriters at the weekly SCOOP sa Kamayan sports session that the POC has started talking with private individuals and companies that can finance the training of the young Filipino athletes who will qualify in the Youth Olympic Games.

Joseph said that while the government is there to help, POC still have to raise money to avoid what has happened during the Laos Southeast Asian Games in Laos.

The POC official is referring to the confusion experienced by the athletes when the Philippine Sports Commission funded only 152 of the 232 athletes in Laos biennial meet based on the gold-silver criteria of the 2007 SEA Games.

Although the POC was able to finance the participation of the remaining athletes, the group does not want the same thing to happen again in the country’s next big international competition.

The POC has came out with own criteria that allowed the potential athletes to participate and many of them won gold medals, including rookie wrestler Jason Balabal and teammate Margarito Angana.

Angana’s older brother Jimmy, whose participation was funded by the PSC, also won gold medal, improving the Wrestling Association of the Philippines’s only four silver and four bronze medal haul from the 2007 Thailand meet.

WAP president Albert Balde attributed their three gold, two silver and four bronze medals performance to the determination of his athletes to bring home honor despite ongoing infighting among the top sports officials.

Balde said they made sure that their athletes were not affected by the ongoing bickering of the top POC and PSC officials.

The Filipino gold medalists are set to receive the P200,000 balance each of their P300,000 cash incentive from the PSC on January 13 with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to lead the granting of the incentives in Malacañang.

Actually, the gold medal winner stands to get only P100,000 incentive as provided in the law but PSC Harry Angping raised additional P100,000 from private sponsors and P100,000 more from the PSC to bring to P300,000 the total incentive of every gold medalist.

Veteran judo internationalist John Baylon, who also attended the sports forum, said he was also affected by the problem as he snatched his ninth straight SEA gold medal.

The 45-year-old Baylon said he is still good for three more SEA Games, adding that as he can compete, he will continue to give honor for our country.

Baylon said his next target is to qualify for his third Olympic Games in 2012. He is also set to participate in the Asian Games slated in November this year in Guangzhou, China.

Meanwhile, Joseph said among the sports that have a good chance to send qualified athletes in the World Youth Olympic Games are swimming, shooting, archery, lawn tennis and 3-on-3 basketball team.*PNA

back to top

Three-way tie in Balbina Cup 2001
Class ’66 remains upfront in NOHS bowling tourney
RP athletes need private backers