The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) is the organization of the Philippine government that handles matters concerning sports, and sporting leagues throughout the country. They were formed by the Office of the President by Republic Act 6847 in January of 1990. The PSC office is currently located in Manila, Philippines and is made up of a chairman, 4 commissioners, and an executive director. Together with the Office of the President, they determine the best way to build interest and develop Filipino sports. The commission also serves as a voice for Philippine sports and helps shape Philippine gambling laws and policies concerning sports in the Philippines.
Sports Objective
The Philippine Sports Commission is committed to increasing sports participants across all Filipino sports. They spend a lot of time with children and introduce them to Filipino games and sports by providing experiences and hosting community events. They also help sports spread through the islands by informing people how they can get involved with local events and community sports. The organization strives to ensure that Filipino’s perform well in commissioned sports. They do this by informing players of the rules of sports and by making sure they know how the games are played. Since they help form the rules and policies surrounding certain sports it is in their interest to make sure the players are also informed to assure they can perform well.
Philippine Sports Commission Programs
The Philippine Sports Commission uses several programs to help develop sports amongst young Filipino athletes. These programs are used to help develop an interest in sports and family sports. While the 4 programs that the PSC currently host are vastly different, they all serve the same purpose, to inform and promote sports participation. The 4 programs are:
- Philippine Sports Institute
- Batang Pinoy
- POC-PSC National Games
- Laro’t Saya Se Parke
Philippine Sports Institute
The PSC created a program called the Philippine Sports Institute to recognize and develop potential athletes across the Philippines. The sports institute finds potential athletes and gives them access to their state of the art resources. They track growth, strength, and athletic ability and provide assistance to young athletes they think can be beneficial to Filipino sports or national sports in the future. A lot of times these programs help underprivileged youth by giving them access to sporting resources and training materials. They look for smart athletic kids who have an interest in sports already and helps develop their athletic ability over their adolescent years in hopes of forming a national pool of athletes that can one day compete in Philippine and international events.
Batang Pinoy
Batang Pinoy (Filipino Youth) was a national youth sports competition for Filipino’s under 15 years of age. This competition included all youth under 15 years of age who wished to participate. The games were first held in the early 2000’s and ceased in 2016 after the Tagum competitions. There was a total of 10 events before the events discontinued in 2017. The first event was held in Manila, but the program eventually held competitions across the Philippines, even on some of the more remote islands. Even though the games are currently discontinued, there is a possibility that the program starts back up one day.
POC-PSC National Games
The POC-PSC games are a national multi-sport tournament held in the Philippines. The games are intended to determine the best athletes for the national pool of athletes to compete in international competitions. The national games are often used to scout athletes for the international competitions. The first event was held in 1994 and events continue to this today. There are many sports that take place at these tournaments but a few of importance is:
- Basketball
- Badminton
- Chess
- Table Tennis
- Arnis
- Taekwondo
- Canoeing
- Gymnastic
- Wind Surfing
- And many more
Laro’t Saya Se Parke
The Laro’t Saya Se Parke is a park-based sports program for all that is part of the Philippine Sports Commission. The project began in 2013 and hopes to one day become a national campaign for Filipino family sports and to draw families closer together by using sports and games. At the park, they have games such as chess, checkers, badminton, and volleyball that friends or families can play. They have games and activities for all types of people, young and old. They also have instructors who donate their time to teach sports such as Arnis, Taekwondo, Dance, and more.
Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF)
The Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF) was formed in 1911 to help assist the growth of sports and participation in international competitions for the Philippines, similar to how PAGCOR regulates gambling in the Philippines. In 1929 the PAAF was first recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the National Olympic Committee for the Philippines when swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso won the first ever Olympic medal for the Philippines. In 1975 the PAAF changed their name to the Philippine Olympic Committee after the Department of Youth and Sports Development was created and later abolished the PAAF.
Philippine Olympic Committee
The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) often works to promote sports across the Philippines and will sometimes team up with the Philippine Sports Commission. When they do team up, they share events as some of the sports they both promote are played in the Olympic Games. The Philippine Olympic Committee is responsible for sports and activities related to the Olympic Games and represents the Olympic body for the Philippines. They also participate in the Asean Games, Southeast Asean Games, and other international athletic competitions.