National Capital Region Athletics Association’s (NCRAA) lustrous performance in the recently held Palarong Pambansa at Tagum City, Davao del Norte last May 3-9, 2015 could remain unbeaten for unknown number of years. All sixteen regional athletic associations’ common quest of unseating NCRAA as the reigning over-all Champion would remain to be a dream. NCRAA’s dominance in the national sports only proves the glaring reality that there is inequitable distribution of resources for sports development in this country. Other regions are just wandering if NCRAA will remain invincible until how many number of years.
The strategy of beating NCRAA in the future national sports competition is still undiscovered to many regional sports officials. The hiatus of NCRAA’s reign as champion in national sports shall take place in the future by the shifting of our current centralized type of government into a federal form. Unless a federal form of government will be established, NCRAA will remain unmatched and unbeaten in every national sports competition for unknown number of years.
The National Capital Region (NCR) is known as the business capital of the country. Our central government is seated at the National Capital Region. Although we continually refer to our Local Government Code as an assurance for strong adherence of local autonomy in LGUs but all theories have remained to be an ideal concept, untrue and remains debatable as compared with the present fiscal reality taking place in many LGUs outside of Metro Manila.
Here are some of the reasons why NCRAA has remained unbeaten in every national sports competition:
(1)The NCRAA’s sports programs are well-funded by private sectors that have thronged in Metro Manila.
(2) The exposure of NCRAA’s athletes, coaches and trainors to international competitions is well established.
(3)NCR’s athletes, coaches, trainors and sports officials can afford to attend international competitions outside of the country through funding funneled by private sectors and multinational companies to LGUs and local sports clubs that are nestling in Metro Manila.
(4)The Internal Revenue Allotments (IRAs) of LGUs in NCR are unmatched even by premier cities from the South, not even Davao City or Cebu City could match the IRA of a small city like Pasay.
(5)NCR’s athletes are groomed towards becoming professional athletes. They engaged into sports as amateurs with the resolve of becoming professional athletes someday, as they are lured by unimaginable perks and bonuses enjoyed by many sports professionals based in Metro Manila.
(6)Many sports professionals chose Manila as their home-base. They can have lots of “rakets” in the place as sports instructors, university coaches and trainors and even as mere sports’ pundits or analysts for media outfits. These jobs are nowhere to be found in their suburban places of origin, outside of NCR.
No matter what strategies other regional athletic associations try to polish in order to outclass NCRAA in future national games, the reality remains that NCR’s supremacy rests on its role as the seat of business capital of the country. The private sectors’ strong support to sports program in NCRAA is part of the former’s corporate strategy of availing huge tax exemptions from the government. By channeling most of their money to sports, these companies enjoy unimaginable untaxed surpluses.
The roadmap towards dethroning NCRAA as over-all champion in many national games like the Palarong Pambansa does not exists yet as of the moment. Our highly-Centralized form of government has made it impossible. The economic dominance of NCR over other regions in the country is metaphorically shown in their superb performance at national sports competitions.
If federal form of government is established, the long-sought economic development in the countryside shall finally take place. The establishment of strong local economy outside of NCR is a necessary requisite in order to build a well-grounded sports program that is at par or possibly superior than what many NCR athletes have enjoyed. Under a federal state, five to ten years, many regions can compete and finally dethrone NCRAA as over-all champion in most national games. This could be our needed blueprint towards fulfilling our decades- old ambition of winning our first ever Olympic gold. If given the same support and exposures, many athletes outside of NCR will be able to break many national records and even international marks. Federal Philippines will make this happen. Federal government will usher the countryside towards a strong regional sports program beneficial to all regions of the country.