A Proposal for a Department of Human Kinetics and Sports Development
*Dr. Rodolfo John Ortiz Teope, PhD, EdD, DM
When a Filipino athlete wins, we know how to celebrate. We
share the photograph, watch the flag rise, and speak proudly of the Filipino
spirit.
But before that moment, there are quieter scenes worth
remembering: a parent stretching the household budget, a young competitor
looking for a place to train, an injured athlete wondering whether recovery
will end a career.
National pride should reach those moments, too.
Sen. Bong Go’s call for sustained athlete support, expressed
in the accompanying poster, recognizes that responsibility. His message is
straightforward: praise after victory must be accompanied by support from
grassroots development through an athlete’s career.
Hindi sapat ang palakpak kapag panalo na. Kailangan ding
may masasandalan habang nagsisimula pa lamang, nahihirapan, o bumabangon.
Building on that principle, I propose the creation of a Department
of Human Kinetics and Sports Development—an institution that would connect
athlete welfare, grassroots opportunity, sports science, and lifelong physical
activity within a dependable national program.
My conviction comes partly from experience. I once served as
Executive Vice President of the Philippine Amateur Judo Association and
attended meetings of the Philippine Olympic Committee in that capacity. I
witnessed firsthand the politics within National Sports Associations and the
POC.
That experience made the question of athlete protection
personal to me. Institutions can disagree over authority, leadership, and
procedure. An athlete still needs to train, recover, qualify, and earn a living
while those disagreements continue.
May susunod pang meeting ang mga opisyal. Pero hindi
laging may susunod na pagkakataon ang atleta.
The Philippine Sports Commission already has substantial
responsibilities. Republic Act No. 6847 gives it amateur sports policy and
coordination functions, oversight of financially assisted NSA programs, and
sanctioning powers. The law also recognizes the autonomy of the POC and
National Sports Associations.
Those existing powers should be used effectively. Delayed
assistance and weak administration need attention now.
An upgraded PSC offers continuity, potentially lower
transition costs, and improvements built on existing staff and systems. The
proposed department’s distinctive contribution would be dedicated Cabinet
leadership for a wider mission spanning education, health, local government,
and national budgeting. Its enabling law should connect grassroots
participation, sports science, athlete welfare, and career transition through
named agency commitments and a consolidated investment plan.
For an athlete, the intended benefit is a continuous path
from early development to competition and eventual employment, with fewer gaps
between services and a clear account of who must act when assistance fails. An
amended PSC charter could adopt several of these arrangements. Congress should
compare both options against the same services, costs, and accountability
standards, so that the choice rests on public value.
Human kinetics gives the proposal its broader purpose. It
concerns human movement, physical function, and performance. Its reach includes
the child learning to play, the person with a disability seeking an accessible
program, the older adult trying to remain active, and the athlete preparing for
international competition.
A child should not have to look like a future Olympian
before receiving a safe place to play.
Working with schools, health agencies, local governments,
universities, and community organizations, the department should expand access
to qualified instruction, appropriate facilities, and sports science services.
Each partner would retain its proper mandate, with clear commitments replacing
uncertain arrangements.
For competitive athletes, dependable support also means
protection when governance breaks down.
The 2022 EJ Obiena–PATAFA dispute illustrates the
difficulty. In its March 18 statement, PATAFA said it had deferred action on
Obiena’s request for competition endorsements pending mediation and disputed
the POC’s suspension decision on due-process grounds. Those were the
association’s stated positions.
The PSC subsequently mediated a settlement. PATAFA agreed to
endorse Obiena’s participation in international competitions, and the POC later
announced that it had lifted its resolutions concerning PATAFA and its
president following the mediation.
Their cooperation helped resolve the dispute, demonstrating
the value of mediation and the need for standing safeguards while institutions
exercise separate powers.
A settlement can repair a relationship. It cannot always
restore an opportunity that has passed.
The political stakes are also built into representation.
Under the POC’s published 2024 by-laws, regular NSA members possess voting
rights, and elected leadership is drawn from NSA representatives. Leadership
within an association can therefore carry influence beyond its own sport.
Elections and alliances are legitimate. The danger arises
when sporting opportunity becomes entangled with personal loyalty or a struggle
to remain in office.
The proposed department must respect sporting autonomy while
enforcing public financial accountability. It should administer grants
transparently, verify expenditure, and impose lawful sanctions through notice,
written reasons, and appeal. It must never use assistance to install preferred
federation leaders.
Athletes should have an accessible protection service for
complaints, urgent welfare assessment, and procedural assistance. Cases should
reach the competent authority promptly, and complaints against departmental
personnel should have an external review route.
The enabling law should authorize audited continuity
assistance for eligible athletes during governance disputes. Verified payments
or approved providers could preserve essential training and treatment while
contested leadership questions proceed. Competition entry would remain subject
to applicable sporting rules.
Under this proposal, the department would absorb and
succeed the PSC. Its enabling law would transfer the commission’s
functions, personnel, assets, records, appropriations, and lawful obligations,
with employee safeguards and uninterrupted athlete assistance. Upon completion
of the statutory transition, the PSC would cease to exist as a separate
commission, while its responsibilities would continue through the department.
A published transition plan should be completed within 180
days. The first year should establish reliable baselines and a costed program,
the second should bring functioning athlete protection services and regional
pilots, and the third should produce an independent evaluation of results and
costs.
The public should be able to recognize the difference. Can a
parent find an affordable program for a child? Does approved assistance arrive
when promised? Can an athlete raise a concern without fearing retaliation? Are
coaching, rehabilitation, and education support becoming more accessible?
These answers would give the department meaning. They should
also guide its support for athletes’ education and preparation for employment
after competition, when public attention may have moved on but the need to
build a livelihood remains.
I believe Sen. Bong Go would give this proposal a fair
hearing. His call for sustained support offers a starting point for discussing
how it might become workable policy. I offer this proposal in that spirit,
hopeful that he will examine it and help advance its strongest provisions.
Sa likod ng bawat medalya ay may pamilyang nagtiis at
atletang ilang ulit nang piniling magpatuloy. Sana, sa bawat pagpiling iyon,
maramdaman nilang may bansang kasama nila.
The next time our flag rises above a sporting arena, may
we celebrate knowing that our athletes carried the country—and that the country
helped carry them.
_________________________________________________________
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