𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐍 | 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗥𝗨𝗜𝗧𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗥

Report by Antonio Joaquin Umali | Cartoon by Mary Ruth Orendain | Layout by Julyanna Lyde Denise Bautista

Olympics is like a lottery in the Philippines — one’s victory guarantees an athlete with millions of pesos in exchange of pride and honor through a gold medal.

Since 1924, the Philippines has been competing in the professional sports world known as the Olympics. Ten decades later, who would have thought that it would take us that long to finally achieve the goal of obtaining a gold medal in this competition.

In July 2021, professional weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz brought the Philippines its first gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. In her event, she not only dominated but also set two world records in the Women’s 55kg category.

With this historical achievement, do you think Diaz celebrated her momentous success and had an easy time climbing to the top of the podium? Little did you know, before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Diaz resorted to a social media donation drive because of the little to no support from the government for Filipino athletes. — 'Is it okay to ask for sponsorship from private companies for Tokyo 2020? I am struggling; I need financial support.'

What does this imply for the professional sports world in the Philippines? Neglect by the Philippine government forces Filipino athletes to not only compete in their respective sports but also struggle for the limited resources that are rarely, if ever, provided to them.

𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲

“This event is more than just an inter-school and inter-regional competition; it is also a platform where we discover, where we develop, and hone future professional athletes, Olympians, and servant-leaders,” said President Bongbong Marcos at the recently concluded 2024 Palarong Pambansa.

Palarong Pambansa is the Department of Education’s (DepEd) way of promoting sports and health to the youth.

At this event, I have watched clips and interviews of successful student-athletes who seem to be neglected by their own regional offices to be granted financial aid. Some of them spent their own money for accommodation, food, and sporting equipment. Not to mention, a bare-footed runner won at her sporting event striving only with her family and trainers’ support.

Being a student-athlete is not cheap, let alone being a professional player. This is an underlying problem sugarcoated with the toxic positivity mindset of “perseverance.” Just because they won without any necessities such as shoes, it doesn’t mean they have to. There are training courses, seminars, and equipment to be handled. You sure are lucky if a private company supports you financially.

In this case, not only does DepEd have the same goal, but also the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC)—to exploit their athletes by making them believe that doing well will bring fortune through winning and representing the country. It only hungers the athlete’s hope of rising through poverty. I mean, we all dreamt of becoming rich, buying all the things we want and need, right?

Quoting from an interview of EJ Obiena, “I haven’t received anything yet,” when asked if he has been receiving government support. But look at him now, the World’s Top 3 Men Pole Vaulter and the first Filipino to win at the World Athletics Championship.

Your fruits do not mean anything to them if they are not ready to harvest yet.

Honing one's skills does not mean leaving the athlete all alone and only being proud when celebrating their win. Growth needs to start at home—our homeland, the Philippines. If the country wants more athletes who are worthy of recognition, it should start investing in them, rather than just feasting on their hardships. It sounds like opportunistic exploitation—taking advantage of Filipino athletes by using their achievements for national pride and political gain while failing to provide adequate support, resources, and long-term development opportunities for these athletes.

𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆

In the Philippines, there are only two major events; Miss Universe and Manny Pacquiao’s boxing match. When one of these two are flashed in the Philippine Television, trust me, it will surely gather lots of Filipino Audiences especially when your winning bet is this close to winning.

But there are a lot of Filipino who already won, where are the audiences?

From Eumir Marcial and Martin Martinez to Joanie Delgaco, these are notable Filipino athletes who may have won medals but have not won the hearts of Filipinos. It is a bleak realization that only specific sports can have their own limelight, just as people adore specific candidates in beauty pageants.

Just like pageantry, the Philippines also have a powerhouse when it comes to sports, and its Basketball. Being a vast urbanizing country, it is not surprising if the Philippines is dubbed as “basketball-crazy country” with most of its population having basketball courts everywhere. This is the powerhouse of sports in the country.

On the other hand, sports with no demands don’t have the same treatment as what the folks adore. For example, figure Skating. Even though the Philippines won many championships through professional figure skater, Martin Martinez, it is inevitably a sport not the cup of tea a Filipino would drink.

It is not patronized by a lot of Filipino being rare considering the Philippines is a tropical country where we experience no snow and colds only during heavy rainstorms. That’s why the government has a lot of hard time funding athletes with rare sports because they cannot guarantee triumph with these athletes. It looks like supporting a sport financially is a gamble to the officials wherein they only bet on sports with high audiences to attract more sponsors.

Not all sports can attract major sponsors. In that sense, the PSC focuses on what is the talk of the town and what is adored by the people to maximize and utilize their exposure, hoping that big companies will notice them. Fortunately, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is one such sport. Being funded by a private party and receiving attention in Philippine sporting events, what does it feel like to become the heart of Philippine sports?

Beauty standards are like the rules of a sports game—they’re often set by others, can be rigid and difficult to change, and not everyone agrees with them. Just as athletes are judged by how well they conform to the rules of the game, people are often evaluated based on how closely they align with society’s fluctuating ideals of beauty. Athletes must also adhere to the demands of what the public is interested in. Perhaps in that way, the government also notices this, making you an asset in their gamble. After all, many athletes from different sports have proven themselves by excelling in their games without sufficient support from the government. And for them, it is never enough unless they win.

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁?

Negligence can happen once, but when it’s almost every time, it’s a habit of abuse. This happens to many local and national Filipino athletes who have their blood, sweat, and tears being drained for no cost.

Charting three years of PH’s National Budget, is it hard to allow the sporting sector to at least have a budget? During 2021-2023, PSC received a total of ₱1.309 billion, ₱761 million, and ₱156 million, respectively. There is a recognizable decline in the budget. Why is that? Not to mention, the confidential funds happened in 2023.

Fortunately, the 2024 budget was at least competent, having the proposed ₱176 million being approved to ₱1.156 billion. But again, money is the root of what? We cannot guarantee efficiency for the approval of budget even adding legal resources such as the law. In any national sporting matters, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is mandated to donate 5% of gross income and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s (PCSO) 30% of earning to PSC every year.

Additionally, these said contributions are for the monthly allowance of athletes. If there are budgets aside from what is relocated to the PSC, what’s the problem you may ask. Even with these said contributions, it is never enough for an official to control its tiny crocodile hands.

With professional boxer Irish Magno’s experience during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the allowance that was supposed to be delivered monthly was two months behind—and it was for her starving family. If an Olympic athlete like Magno experienced a two-month delay, imagine what another national athlete might endure at the hands of these perpetrators.

Just because there is a budget doesn’t mean that those who deserve it have the chance to use it. During 2020, a corruption scheme by PSC was revealed. Manipulating payrolls of the athlete’s allowance from the commission. According to National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) Paul Michael Ignacio, the scheme went for five years and summed up to ₱14 million.

No wonder Hidilyn Diaz reached out to private sectors, and not to the local government – because she knows that the government is up to no good, neglecting Filipino Athletes of the support they need. It is also the reason why Diaz red-tagged during Duterte’s Administration, including her in ‘Oust Duterte’ Matrix for being vocal and transparent about Filipino Athletes struggling to find support in the government’s presence. According to former Chief Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo in 2019, the matrix contained names of opposition figures, a lawyer's group, and news organizations that are supposedly conspiring to discredit the administration.

Is this something a decent government will give in return for the hardships and contributions of your athletes? An athlete’s victory is for the country, not for the administration to stain, and not to claim.

Politicians only recognize the gains, not the hardship. Even with our athlete’s fruits of labor, we cannot make a salad because the fruit is infested with these greedy suited insects.