SENATOR Pia Cayetano urged the creation of a welfare fund for all athletes to help them cope during challenging times, such as the coronavirus pandemic.

In doing so, Cayetano also said there is a need to amend the charter of the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), the government agency tasked to supervise and regulate all professional sports.

The sports-minded lawmaker from Taguig made the twin proposals during the final day of her interpellations on Senate Bill 2077 authored by boxing legend Sen. Manny Pacquiao that seeks to create a Philippine Boxing and Combat Sports Commission.

“Why don’t we amend the GAB Charter first and put up a welfare fund for all our athletes, instead of creating a new agency that focuses only on boxing and combat sports,” said Cayetano laat Thursday.

“I think it’s a disservice to the Filipino people that we will pull out funds for the creation of a new agency when we already have an existing agency, the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), that is regulating different sports in the country, not just boxing and combat sports,” explained Cayetano.

She also said it is not the opportune time to allocate as much as P150-milion, especially during the COVID19 pandemic.

“I questioned the timing of this bill that requires roughly P100-150 million of government funding to set up new offices around the country for a boxing commission. I feel that this is not an opportune measure especially during the COVID19 pandemic,” said Cayetano, a noted triathlete herself.

“We need to be more responsive and responsible in allocating our limited resources. P100-150 million could go a long way in addressing our various pre- and post-pandemic needs. The most important now is strengthening our healthcare system, human health resources, and health infrastructure.”

“Also, with that budget, we can avail of the e-classroom packages for our students, as well as improve our adoption processes for abandoned and neglected Filipino children. Of the roughly P190M budget requested by the Department of Social Welfare and Development for additional adoption and foster care personnel, we were only able to grant P35-million.”

While admitting her deep respect to Pacquiao and other Filipino boxers for their contributions, Cayetano also reiterated her support to all Filipino athletes.

“While I respect and admire our Filipino boxers, we should not turn a blind eye to our other athletes who, in the line of their sports, are also exposed to injuries. The bill should cover other sports like basketball, volleyball, triathlon, etc.”

“Moreover, we should extend our support not just to professional athletes, who are already earning from their sports, but also to amateur athletes, who are fighting for the glory of the country.”

She also welcome the suggestion that this proposed commission would be privately funded, similar to most of the countries that have their own boxing commissions.

“I thank our colleague and the bill’s good sponsor, Sen. Manny Pacquiao, for being patient and indulging all of my questions during our debates. I believe his intentions are noble, and we see eye to eye in promoting the welfare of Filipino athletes. I do hope we can continue working together in improving this measure, just as we have all worked together with previous bills in finding solutions.”

GAB, which is presently headed by Chairman Abraham “Baham” Mitra and Commissioners Mar Masanguid and Eduard Trinidad, is one of the top performing government agencies under the Office of the President based on the recent Commission on Audit (COA) report.

Under Mitra, GAB was also awarded as “Commission of the Year” by the powerful World Boxing Council (WBC) for its many initiatives in the promotion of boxing.

GAB also entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Health for free medical and dental services to all athletes.