Ritchie Garcia, who heads the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) said he has talked to Pacquiao about the planned transformation of PSC to a full cabinet-level department to boost the total development of sports in the country.
Garcia is confident the plan for the creation of the Department of Sports will soon be realized with more sports-minded lawmakers like 1Pacman party list representative Mikee Romero working together for the passage of the bill.
“In the Senate, this is also being pushed by Sen. Manny Pacquiao. I was able to talk to him and this is the same direction he wants like Rep. Romero,” Garcia said
“I suggest that we put this together for a joint filing of the bill in the Senate and House of Representatives and have it approved by the President. We must pull our act together,” he added
In a press statement last year Garcia said the creation of the cabinet level sports department will enable its regional offices to have their own sports program with budget allocation for the department.
“If you have a department, you have regional offices. If you have regional offices, then there’s budget for the regional,” he said. “Then the region will have their home project and program.”
“That should be the setup,” he added. “The chairman or secretary should have a term of six years,” he said.
There were a number of bills already filed in congress for the creation of the cabinet-level body to oversee the development of sports in thee country but none had been passed by both houses.
Early this year, Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles filed a bill in congress known as the “Department of Sports Act,” aimed at creating a cabinet-level agency for the promotion and development of sports in the country.
“It is now high time for the government to prioritize sports in the national agenda, and consider sports as an integral factor in nation building,” Nograles said in a press release.
Under the proposed bill, an Amateur Sports Development Bureau will be created to promote local and national competitions while another bureau known as International Sports Development Bureau will likewise be created to promote international competitions.
The proposed bill that Pacquiao intends to file could be a consolidation of pending bills in congress that call for the creation of a cabinet level sports department.
