The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) still needs P5 million to finance the participation of the 268-strong national delegation to the 15th Doha Asian Games in December.
If the PSC doesn’t find a sponsor to foot the shortfall, the government agency and the Philippine Olympic Committee (PSC) may trim the delegation, according to PSC commissioner Richie Garcia.
Garcia, also the deputy chief of mission of the national team, said they resort to this drastic move if no “godfather” steps up to add P5 million more to the P30 million kitty the PSC has prepared for the Asiad.
The P5 million, according to Garcia, will be used to pay for the participation of the baseball, water polo and softball squads, plus some other token entries in various sports disciplines.
Letters of solicitation have been sent to private firms but the POC and PSC have yet to receive positive replies.
If no private company comes to the rescue, Garcia said the PSC and POC will start trimming the number of athletes before the Sept. 30 deadline imposed by organizers of the Doha Asiad.
“The budget of the PSC is already short. Umaabot na tayo ngayon ng almost P35 million,” Garcia said. “Kung hindi talaga mare-raise iyan, we have to start chopping numbers.”
Although the baseball, softball and water polo teams are not expected to stamp their mark in the Asiad, they qualified for the Doha trip based on the criteria laid down by the Asian Games Task Force headed by athletics chief Go Teng Kok.
