Proposed 2025 PSC budget down by P431M

The proposed 2025 national budget has allocated P725 million for the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), an amount significantly lower than last year’s P1.156 billion budget.

Based on information accessible via the Department of Budget and Management website, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s proposed PSC budget is broken down to:

• P312.5 million for general administration and support
• P158.2 million for Amateur Sports Development Program
• P255 million for locally funded projects.

Of the P255 million locally funded projects, P175 million has been allocated for the preparation, training and participation for the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand; P56.7 million for the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China; P11.27 million for the 2025 Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-Northern Territory-East Association of Southeast Asian Nations Growth Area (BIMPNT-EAGA) Games and P11.97 million for the Asian Youth Para Games.

The 2025 proposed budget for general administration and support at P312.5 million, on the other hand, is way higher than the 2024 budget allocation for the same item at P102.97 million.

Meanwhile, the P158.2 million proposed budget for the 2025 Amateur Sports Development Program is almost a 50% decrease compared to the 2024 budget of P301.34 million.

The proposed 2025 budget for locally funded projects only reached P255 million from P752 million in the 2024 national budget since 2025 is not an Olympic, Youth Olympics and Paralympic year.

Other locally funded projects funded under the 2024 national budget which were not provided under the proposed 2025 budget include:

• Rehabilitation of Rizal Memorial Sports Complex - P200 million
• Rehabilitation and upgrading of Philsports Complex - P75 million
• Philippine National Para Games - P10 million
• Financial assistance to athletes including Community Sports Development, and Sports Activities - P174.2 million
• Philippine National Anti-Doping Organization - P10 million
• Preparation, training and participation in the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-Northern Territory-East Association of Southeast Asian Nations Growth Area (BIMPNT-EAGA) Games - P30 million
• Indigenous Peoples Games - P10 million
• Support to Volleyball Nations League 2024 hosted by the Philippines - P80 million
• Support to Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Challenge hosted by the Philippines - P10 million 
• Reserved Officers Training Corps Games - P65.91 million
• Support to Samahang Kickboxing ng Pilipinas - P5 million

However, aside from PSC's P725 million allocation under the proposed 2025 budget, the PSC can also use the National Sports Development Fund as provided under the PSC law. 

The National Sports Development Fund, under Section 26 of the PSC law, is sourced from the following: 

• P29,826,000 from taxes on horse races during special holidays, share from all taxes collected on imported athletic equipment and proceeds from the sale of stamps depicting sports events  
• Proceeds of sweepstakes or lottery draws of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and the PSC's share from the gross income of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

PSC's use of the National Sports Development Fund, however, are limited to:

• P6 million for the research, promotion, development and implementation of Sports Science and Sports Medicine
• Assistance to national sports associations, private associations and entities, civil service organizations and individuals relative to the implementation of the National Physical Fitness and Sports training
• Preparation of national athletes and coaches selection of individual athletes at the elementary and high school levels for individual sports events and maintenance of the training venues for the national athletes and coaches

Payment of cash incentives and retirement benefits to national athletes and coaches in accordance with the provisions of the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act.

The Philippines is coming off its most productive Olympic stint since it first participated in the Summer Games in 2024, winning two gold medals courtesy of Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo and two other assured bronze medals of female boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas.

Currently ranked world No. 2 in men's pole vault by the 2023 World Athletics Rankings, EJ Obiena also advanced to the medal round and is expected to add to the Philippines' medal haul when he competes for a podium finish on Tuesday dawn, Manila time.

Speaker Martin Romualdez has already pledged to grant Filipino gymnast Yulo at least P6 million worth of rewards for winning two gold medals in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, making Yulo the first Filipino athlete to win multiple gold medals in a single Olympic Games.

Yulo first made history on Saturday night by winning the floor exercise in men's artistic gymnastics anchored on two stuck landings off his two highly difficult tumbling passes. Less than 24 hours later, the 24-year old Manila native won a second gold medal on vault with the highest difficulty score in the field.
—RF, GMA Integrated News