Formulating sports development programs together at the national and collegiate level will now be possible.
A memorandum of agreement between the Philippine Sports Commission and the Commission on Higher Education will make this happen in a more seamless manner.
CHED chairman Prospero de Vera said an alignment of the responsibilities of the CHED and the PSC can now be done with better communication and coordination.
“What started out as a conversation is now a document. Kasi, before, hindi nag-uusap ang PSC at and CHED. The initiatives of CHED and the PSC are not coordinated. There was no sharing of information, no collaboration of activities. And therefore, some of the problems of sports in higher education cannot be solved because the agencies were not unified,” said De Vera in a web conference on Zoom with PSC chairman William Ramirez.
In the MOA, the two agencies agreed to come up with plans, programs and policies that will provide directions for educations institutions and develop plans that will help train athletes, coaches and administrators in a professional manner.
On the other hand, developing and maintaining sports facilities inside campuses which can handle national and international competitions can be worked out through CHED’s partnership with the PSC.
“It's really a happy moment for the PSC. Because in the grassroots level, it’s the PSC’s mandate to collaborate with the Department of Education, the LGUs and the private sector. On the other side, it’s a collaboration with the Philippine Olympic Committee, the private sector and the national sports associations,” added Ramirez.
De Vera said among the issues that the CHED faces happens when student-athletes go to other countries to join international meets since they are not certified in their undertakings.
“There was no system in place. What this MOA creates is a legal mechanism to work together,” said De Vera.
The MOA will also help the CHED come up with unified plans with collegiate sports organizations like the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc.