ALL IN THE GAMEThe New Kid On the
(Sports) Block is No Rookie
First posted 02:08am (Mla time) Sept 04, 2005
By Jasmine W. Payo
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page Q3 of the
September 4, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
SPORTS politics isn’t as
confounding as the circus that is the House of Congress. But it
seems that way at times to Philippine Sports Commission chair
William “Butch” Ramirez.
“We’re at that point in the
history of sports when nobody believes in sports leaders
anymore. We’re at a crossroad. No one believes that we’ll
perform,” says Ramirez.
Thus, Ramirez thought of an
ingenious way of proving his sincerity by actually living with
the athletes.
“I’ve been staying at the
athletes’ quarters in Ultra,” shares the Davao del Sur native.
“My purpose was to get along with the athletes. It’s just one
room and I stay there with my wife. My children are all grown
up.”
A high-ranking government
official living a spartan life sure does sound like an urban
legend. So naturally, many eyebrows were raised.
“I have no house in
Manila,” Ramirez insists. “People have been saying, oh come on,
chairman, you can have a condo left and right. In fact, there
was one official who
came into my room and saw
it was very simple. He said, kawawa ka naman (pity you),
chairman. But I promised to myself that if I cannot make a
comfortable room for my athletes, I will not long for a
beautiful house.”
Ramirez stresses that it’s
no gimmick. Life has been modest, he says, since he moved to
Manila to work as a PSC official five years ago.
“Even when I was still
commissioner, I’ve been sleeping in the quarters along with some
employees,” notes Ramirez. “It was an old room and the carpet
wasn’t really clean. So now, I have acquired asthma. It was the
price I paid for being commissioner. It’s different here
compared to Davao.”
But aside from adjusting to
the environment, Ramirez learned that he also had to work in an
unsettling political landscape.
Unconventional views
“Working as a commissioner,
I discovered a lot of shenanigans,” says Ramirez. “I felt there
was no public servant who would like to serve sports. I ended up
independent from the board because I didn’t share the same
management setup with some of them. I was an outcast. For
example, I never went to any SEA Games because there should only
be one official there. I’ve always thought of it as a junket.”
Such unconventional views,
of course, didn’t go well with some officials in the rigid
institution. So it came as no surprise that his ascent to the
highest post in local sports didn’t come easy.
When former PSC chair Eric
Buhain transferred to the Games and Amusement Board early this
year, some wondered why Ramirez’s name cropped up in the short
list of possible replacements.
It seemed like a long shot
for the 55-year-old official, who was pitted against some of the
big names in local sports, including former senator and
Philippine Basketball Association’s “Living Legend” Robert
Jaworski.
“Everyone was asking, who
is Butch Ramirez?” he recalls. “But compared to the other
candidates, I was an insider. I was here as commissioner so I
know the ins and outs. I believed I had an edge. I know I’m
capable. I’m a sports educator and I have the proper
knowledge.”
But Ramirez knew that
realistically, a solid resume wasn’t enough to nail the position
he was aspiring for.
“I was praying for it,” he
says. “But the President didn’t know me. There were political
backings, I admit. But I’m not ashamed to say that I came here
with competence, credibility and a heart to make a difference.”
Despite all the good
intentions—and finding the right alliances—Ramirez still didn’t
get the appointment he hoped for right away. He was first named
officer-in-charge, a seeming dry run for the diligent but
relatively unknown leader.
“I was determined,” shares
Ramirez. “The President only gave me two months. But I told them
to give me an extra month to prove that I can do it. So when I
sat down, I was so focused.”
It turned out to be a tough
five-month trial period, but Ramirez stresses he had faced
adversity all his life.
Growing up in Mindanao,
Ramirez was the seventh in a brood of 12. His father was a
policeman, while his mother worked in the school canteen.
“Although my parents were
educated, we grew up in poverty,” he says.
Like the rest of the
family, Ramirez did his share to augment the family income at an
early age.
“I was already cleaning
households when I was in Grade 2,” he says. “There was a strong
inclination to work on our own. We learned the values of
frugality, discipline and patience early on. Like when I
graduated in high school, I just borrowed a barong Tagalog from
a lawyer and the pants from a teacher.”
The material comforts may
not have been enough, yet Ramirez recalls a happy childhood. “I
was active in extra curricular activities. I was a boy scout, an
altar boy and I was playing basketball in the varsity team,” he
says.
Most powerful man
But in his junior year in
high school, Ramirez decided to enter the seminary.
“I was inspired by the
French-Canadian priests in our school. Even the mayors in our
town go to church, and I thought that the priest must be the
most powerful man in the community. Plus, you’re close to the
Lord. I was also happy being watched by the girls as an altar
boy,” he chuckles. “But after more than two years, I realized I
wasn’t called for that.”
Ramirez went on to take up
AB History, minor in English Literature at St. Michael’s
College, but ended up teaching economics to high school girls at
Maryknoll in Davao del Norte.
Along the way, he met his
future wife Mercy, and they tried their luck in Manila to find a
“serious job.”
“I became a medical
representative, a detailman, which is a highly specialized
salesmanship to doctors,” says Ramirez. “It was more of a need,
for the survival of our family.”
Moving from one company to
another, Ramirez says his big bosses usually weren’t quite
pleased with him.
“I only reached supervisor
because I was very honest in revealing the kalokohan of our
managers, even in a national conference,” says Ramirez. “I was
always center-left. I was always frank. But I realized that if
you’re frank, you’re put at a disadvantage in the corporate
world. I thought, this isn’t my life, so I went back to Davao.”
Ramirez soon decided to go
back to the academe. But this time, he wanted to cross over from
the classroom to the hardcourt. In 1990, he became the head
coach of the varsity team of the Ateneo de Davao.
“I looked so mayabang
(arrogant). Unlike most coaches then, I read a lot. I spent 10
years in Ateneo de Davao—six years as coach, then four years as
athletic director,” recalls Ramirez, who also completed a
Master’s degree in Public Administration in the same university.
The imposing mentor soon
got his first taste of public service when Davao City Mayor
Rodrigo Duterte tapped him as a sports consultant.
In 1998, Ramirez met former
PSC chair Butch Tuazon, who asked him to serve as regional
sports director in Mindanao.
One bold move
But now that he’s the top
honcho of the controversy-ridden agency, Ramirez has been
suggesting and implementing one bold move after another. “We had
a strategic planning meet and we re-engineered the PSC,” he
notes. “We did not renew a lot of consultants and contractuals.
There were sensitive positions that I fired. My profile as a
nice guy changed. People are now afraid that I will fire them.
But I have to manifest leadership.”
He also outlined his plans
for the local athletes—from providing clean toilets in their
quarters to building a sports institute for a scientific talent
identification program. There were also quite contentious
suggestions, such as cutting the agency’s money-incentive
program for the athletes.
“Many athletes are poor,”
he says. “Most of them haven’t finished school, not even a
two-year course. But I’m against giving money incentive to
athletes who win competitions. I know they need it but I would
prefer that they be given proper housing or Medicare. These are
long term. Money is too easy to spend.”
Clearly, Ramirez doesn’t
mind going with the unpopular view. But how does he roll with
the punches? “I’ve been criticized by my colleagues as a
two-faced liar. Instead of talking back, I just think that what
I’m doing is for the majority. But I still get hurt with the
criticisms, especially if they’re not true. I did not get rich
in public service. I have not abused anyone,” Ramirez notes.
Luckily (or perhaps
unluckily, for some), Ramirez is not about to give up. “I don’t
want to fail those who believe in me,” he says. “I know my term
is temporary but while I’m here, I’ve learned that you can work
well, without stealing. Malaking bagay ang values and lifestyle.
I’m no saint, but it helps if your lifestyle is modest and
simple and your values are very strong.
“We are confronted with a
challenge of good leadership,” Ramirez adds. “If people who
claim to be good surrender to the pressure of evils, who else
will be left?”
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