Senator flags underutilization of National Academy of Sports budget

A Senate subcommittee on Friday pressed the National Academy of Sports (NAS) to improve its budget utilization after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) slashed its proposed 2026 allocation by P55.1 million, citing the academy’s low absorptive capacity.

At the budget hearing of the Senate finance subcommittee, panel chairperson Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said that NAS’s budget will be cut from P306 million in the 2025 General Appropriations Act to P251 million under the 2026 National Expenditure Program.

“Obligation, there’s no reason for obligation to go down,” Gatchalian said, pointing out that NAS recorded only a 28 percent obligation rate in 2024. “No surprise binawasan ng DBM ng 34 percent.” (It’s no surprise DBM slashed your funds by 34 percent.)

NAS Executive Director Josephine Joy Reyes said that fund utilization has been a "challenge," particularly because many competitions and procurement schedules fall late in the year.

“Actually, Mr. Chair, as I reported a while ago, nag-improve naman yung utilization rate namin since most of the activities programs are in the last quarter of the school year. So lahat po ngayon, ma-oobligate naman po siya towards the end of this year,” Reyes said.

(Actually, Mr. Chair, as I reported earlier, our utilization rate has improved since most activities happen in the last quarter of the school year. So by yearend, all funds will be obligated.)

Reyes highlighted that NAS student-athletes have brought home medals from international competitions. These include golds in gymnastics in Bangkok, podium finishes in Dubai table tennis, and a doubles gold at the US Open achieved by Grade 7 and 8 students. NAS judokas also secured medals in the Southeast Asia Judo Championship, while swimmers broke records at the Palarong Pambansa.

She added that three NAS athletes are set to compete in the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain, where strong performances could qualify them for the Youth Olympic Games in Senegal next year.

“Our student-athletes are already world-ranked,” Reyes told senators. "We have to accommodate their competitions as they move up.”

NAS also touted its holistic development of scholar-athletes, noting that many are honor students, while one participant consistently wins medals in the Hong Kong International Math Olympiad.

“Kaya yung hashtag at tagline namin na Basta Taga-NAS, Mahusay ay talaga naman mahusay sila,” Reyes said.

(That’s why our hashtag and tagline ‘If you’re from NAS, you excel’ truly reflects reality.)

Still, senators flagged structural issues. Gatchalian pressed NAS to release long-delayed policies on satellite campuses in Bataan, Baybay, and Baguio, noting that some facilities were already being built without official guidelines.

“It’s almost one year. Can we just release it December? I’m sure many will push for legislative sports high schools and I don’t want… more problems in the future,” Gatchalian said.

NAS is currently based in New Clark City, Tarlac, where Phase 2 of its facilities, including a sports science and medicine building, gymnastics hall, and multipurpose gym, is under construction.

Future projects such as dormitories, a senior high school building, and an auditorium are lodged with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) instead of NAS’s own capital outlay.

To further strengthen its program, NAS submitted a P503-million “wish list” for 2026, which includes non-negotiable expenses of P293 million. Among its requests are an artificial turf, a polyurethane track, anthropometric equipment for nutrition research, smart boards for classrooms, textbooks, transport vehicles, and student insurance.

The committee then approved NAS’s budget for plenary deliberations, subject to the submission of supporting documents.—LDF/VBL, GMA Integrated News