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PSC boss assures national athletes, coaches will continue receiving support

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ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines -- They may not compete for the rest of the year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but national athletes and coaches will continue to receive support from the government.This was the assurance made by Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William &quot;Butch&quot; Ramirez in an interview with Dyan Castillejo of ABS-CBN News.&quot;The money that we are receiving from PAGCOR, which is the National Sports Development Fund, 60% is intended for the elite athletes,&quot; said Ramirez. &quot;Ibibigay namin &#x27;yan. It&#x27;s public money, and para sa atleta, ibibgay namin.&quot;&quot;We are still giving the monthly remittances at the moment, and we are still processing the remittances for May 30,&quot; he added.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/nba/news/2020/05/13/kobe-bryant-039-s-sports-academy-retires-quot-mamba-quot-nickname-68148">READ: Kobe Bryant&#x27;s sports academy retires &quot;Mamba&quot; nickname</a></li></ul>It was<a href="https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/04/24/pagcor-remittance-to-psc-almost-empty/"> reported by the Business Mirror</a> in late April that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation&#x27;s (PAGCOR) remittance to the PSC will only last until the end of the month. PAGCOR currently has no source of revenue as casino operations have been stopped due to the lockdown. But Ramirez stressed that they will find ways to keep supporting the Filipino athletes even without the PAGCOR remittances.&quot;Wala na kaming remittances for April, but we continue to give them remittances. We will continue to give them their May 30 (allowance),&quot; he said. &quot;May savings pa kaming kaunti. &#x27;Pag wala na, the Board has discussed internally that we will give them some … emergency special support. Financial support.&quot;&quot;Then, after that, &#x27;pag wala nang pera … hindi kami hihinto,&quot; Ramirez vowed. &quot;We will seek support from government and private sector so hindi naming kino-consider na mahinto &#x27;yung remittance ng mga isang libong atleta at saka mga coaches.&quot;Ramirez also assured that Filipino athletes abroad -- particularly the Olympic hopefuls who continue to train in other countries -- will be taken care of.Pole vaulter EJ Obiena is still in Italy, while gymnast Caloy Yulo is in Japan. Both are assured of spots to next year&#x27;s Tokyo Olympics. Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who has all but clinched an Olympic berth as well, is in Kuala Lumpur.&quot;In the hierarchy of needs, in the hierarchy of priorities dito sa PSC, &#x27;yung mga qualified sa Olympics at saka &#x27;yung qualifying pa, they are at the top priority of the PSC,&quot; Ramirez explained. &quot;&#x27;Pag dumating na &#x27;yung mga panahon na walang pera, they will be our priority.&quot;The PSC said on April 29 that they will <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/29/20/psc-cancels-sports-events-assures-support-for-national-athletes">cancel all sports activities</a> for the rest of 2020, in compliance with the directive of the Inter-Agency Task Force. The agency also withdrew its financial support to the 10th ASEAN Paralympic Games, which was formally cancelled this week. <div>(For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>).</div>

vThey may not compete for the rest of the year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but national athletes and coaches will continue to receive support from the government.

vThey may not compete for the rest of the year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but national athletes and coaches will continue to receive support from the government.