The 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?”