MANILA, Philippines—There are plenty of ways to generate funds without depending too much on the Philippine Sports Commission.

Olympic chief Jose Cojuangco Jr. said the Philippine Olympic Committee has opened exploratory talks with a top television network in a bid to help national sports associations fend for themselves.

Most, if not all, NSAs are highly dependent on the PSC, the government arm for sports, for financial support to bankroll their programs and get the much-needed foreign exposure for their athletes.

“They (television executives) want to put up a show that will showcase the different NSAs and their athletes,” said Cojuangco.

Though Cojuangco chose not to identify the television network, the POC president said discussions have already gone as far as the distribution of shares from the advertising proceeds.

Cojuangco explained that the network would cash in 70 percent of the profit while handing over 25 percent to the featured NSA during the show.

Based on initial discussions, Cojuangco said the POC will automatically get a five-percent share from the revenue of each telecast.

“It’s actually a good gesture on the part of the network since it will help the NSAs finance their projects,” said Cojuangco.

The former Tarlac lawmaker added the income generated from the show, plus the monetary support coming from the PSC could go a long way for the NSAs as far as meeting their objectives are concerned.

According to Cojuangco, potential sponsors for the POC such as Caltex, Microsoft and Pharmaton have also signified intentions to invest on the proposed show for NSAs and athletes.

“If this (show) pushes through, they (sponsors) will help fund this program,” said Cojuangco. “And that’s besides funding the other events and tournaments of the NSAs.”

Cojuangco explained that apart from the financial support of the Philippine Sports Commission, private sponsors are crucial to the programs of the POC since the country is set to compete in five major sports events next year.

On top of the list are the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Laos and the Asian Youth Games in Singapore.

The Asian Indoor Games and Asian-level tournaments for combat sports and ice-skating are also on tap next year.

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