PSC rejects fund request from chess group over unliquidated cash
By June Navarro
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:02:00 09/15/2010
Philippines — The Philippine Sports Commission has turned down the financial request of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines for the 39th Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
PSC chair Ritchie Garcia said the PSC board rejected the P1-million request after it found out that the NCFP has not liquidated disbursements of P5 million from previous tournaments.
Garcia said former NCFP secretary general Sammy Estimo failed to settle those debts but it did not mean the present leadership of the NCFP would be free from liability.
The Filipino wood pushers, however, are scheduled to leave on Sunday and will be pressed for time to cover all the expenses, including airfare, accommodations and allowances during the Sept. 21-Oct. 3 Olympiad.
Grandmaster Wesley So will join forces with GMs Eugene Torre, John Paul Gomez, Darwin Laylo and International master Richard Bitoon to help Team Philippines improve from 46th place two years ago in Dresden, Germany.
Garcia said he would ask NCFP president Prospero Pichay to write PSC another letter, clarifying the outstanding financial obligation of the association and the means to settle it.
“At best, we could only provide partial financial support as soon as Pichay makes the request,” said Garcia without divulging the amount the sport-funding agency could offer.
“They have to clear those unliquidated funds regardless of who made the requests,” he added.
The PSC is looking to implement an amnesty program for national sports associations, which have long-standing financial obligations that seem impossible to liquidate.
But in the NCFP’s case, Garcia said the association would not be absolved since the officials who made the financial requests were still around to settle those recent debts.
Meanwhile, GM Joey Antonio has accepted the decision of the NCFP to drop him from the national team competing in the Olympiad and the Guangzhou Asian Games in November.
The country’s No. 2 player was sacked after he failed to compete in both the 6th Prospero Cup and the 1st Florencio Campomanes Memorial Chess Tournament.
Antonio, however, will remain part of the national pool and is entitled to receive allowances from the PSC.
Source: http://sports.inquirer.net
The whole mess in the Philippines is very confusing.