Strengthening the Philippine Sports Commission Grassroots Program

August 7, 2007

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 651

STRENGTHENING THE GRASSROOTS PROGRAM OF THE PHILIPPINE SPORTS COMMISSION

WHEREAS, Section 13, Article 11 of the 1987 Constitution declares that the State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being;

WHEREAS, Section 17, Article 11 of the 1987 Constitution states that the State shall give priority to education, science and technology, arts, culture and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total human liberation and development;

WHEREAS, in addition to the above principles, Section 19 (1), Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution mandates that the State shall promote physical education and encourage sports programs, league competitions, and amateur sports, including training for international competitions, to foster self-discipline, teamwork, and excellence for the development of a healthy and alert citizenry;

WHEREAS, Filipinos have excelled in international competitions in such sports as boxing;

WHEREAS, the Philippines aspires to have at least one gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics;

WHEREAS, studies made in the United States and Canada showed that children who played chess performed better and received higher scores on standardized tests for both reading and math;

WHEREAS, the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan calls for strengthening education in math, science and English;

WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 6847 created the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to carry out the above conditional policies and principles in coordination with the various government departments and agencies and private entities; STHDAc

WHEREAS, the PSC has a Grassroots Program to carry out the above programs;

Now Therefore I, Gloria M. Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. The Grassroots Program of the PSC shall be strengthened to develop potential gold medalists in the Olympics as well as to encourage children to play chess so as to help their reading and math skills.

SECTION 2. The Grassroots Program shall endeavor to:

a. Plan, implement and oversee a comprehensive educational and training program for boxing, chess and other sports with Olympic gold potentials in coordination with various sectors including, among others, the respective sports federations, the Philippine Olympic Committee, public and private schools, local governments and private corporations;

b. Discover special talent and skills in boxing, chess and other sports with Olympic gold potentials from among students enrolled in the country's public and private schools through competitive tournaments;

c. Develop and hone the aptitude of boxing, chess and other sports with Olympic gold potentials of known exceptional players including those discovered through tournaments;

d. Develop a pool of grade school and high school scholars in chess and sports with Olympic gold potentials who will be given training and financial support;

e. Support aspiring potential Masters and Olympic gold medalists to gain their titles;

f. Develop and promulgate rules and regulations to implement this Executive Order;

g. Conduct promotional and awareness campaigns for chess and sports with Olympic gold potentials to achieve the objectives of an Olympic gold and improved reading and math skills; and

h. Exercise such other acts as are incident to or are appropriate and necessary in connection with the strengthening of the program.

SECTION 3. The Grassroots Program for each sport shall be managed by a program Task Force composed of five members to be appointed by the President from among the following:

a. PSC, Chairman

b. Philippine Olympic Committee, Co-Chairman

c. The relevant sports federation, Program Director

d. Philippine University Games, Member DaHISE

e. Business Community, Member

SECTION 4. Each Task Force shall appoint from among its members a full-time Operating Officer who shall direct and supervise the day-to-day operations of the Program and shall have control and supervision over the administrative management of the Program.

SECTION 5. The Grassroots Program shall consist of the following three main components:

a. First Phase — Early recruitment and training

b. Second Phase — Development and training of the talents of the National Training Pool for the appropriate certification

c. Third Phase — Elite training and preparation for international competitions for the purpose of obtaining an Olympic gold medal or Grandmaster title.

SECTION 6. The Program shall be provided with an operation fund of Fifty Million Pesos (P50,000,000) to be drawn from the mandatory contribution of the Philippine Amusement and Games Corporation to the PSC in addition to the annual budget appropriations from the PSC.

The PSC is hereby empowered to conduct fund raising activities by donations benefits and other means for financial purposes of augmenting its operation budget.

SECTION 7. All executive issuances, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

DONE in Manila, on August 7, 2007.