William "Butch" Ramirez (born May 18, 1950) is a Filipino sports official. Ramirez previously served as chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). Ramirez is the only chairman of the country's sports authority who served for two terms, first from 2005 to 2009 under former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and second is from 2016 to 2022 under President Duterte.

Career

Before he took over the position as PSC Chairman, he was the Chairman of the Davao City Sports Commission and the men's basketball team Head Coach and Athletic Director of the Ateneo de Davao University. He was the Deputy Chef-de-Mission of the Philippine National Team who competed in the

2005 Southeast Asian Games The 2005 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 23rd Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines. This was the third time the Philippines hosted the games and its first time since 1991 S ...

, which the country hosted. At the time, the Philippines won the first overall championship title at the biennial sporting meet. He was also the Chef-de-Mission of the 205-man Philippine delegation to the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

in Doha, Qatar. Among the memorable achievements he made during his first term are the signing of sporting agreement between the PSC and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, constructing of modern dormitories for athletes and coaches and increased allowances and stipends for them. In 2009, Ramirez resigned from the post and returned to Davao as the Officer-in-Charge of the Davao Sports Development Division and Adviser for Sports of the then-Davao Mayor Duterte after the country's unsuccessful campaign in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

held in

. He was also the Vice Chairman of the

Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines The Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (formerly Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines until 2013), or ABAP, is the Sports governing body, governing body for amateur boxing in the Philippines. History On May 30, 2013, ...

(ABAP). Ramirez actively campaigned for Duterte as president during the 2016 Presidential campaign. He was designated as Head of the Advance Party of the Duterte's campaign team who coordinated and prepared the logistics of Duterte's sorties across the country. Ramirez had initially turned down Duterte's offer to become PSC chairman, after the May 9, 2016 elections, due to graft cases filed by the Office of the Ombudsman against him, former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chairman Efraim Genuino, Philippine Amateur Swimming Association president Mark Joseph and other PAGCOR officials, in connection with the anomalous release of 37 million pesos in financial assistance supposedly for the swimmers who competed in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. But he changed his mind and accepted the offer, after the chief executive appointed him Chairman of the PSC. Currently in PSC, Ramirez revived the Philippine Sports Institute (PSI), intensified grassroots sports development program among local government units, established National Training Centers in the provinces and strengthened partnerships between PSC and POC, the National Sports Associations and other sports stakeholders. He is focused on the hosting preparations of the country for the

2019 Southeast Asian Games The 2019 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 30th Southeast Asian Games, or the 30th SEA Games, and commonly known as Philippines 2019, was the 30th edition of the Southeast Asian Games, a biennial regional multi-sport event which ...

. Ramirez was suspended '' pendente lite'' from his post as PSC chairman. This is due to Ramirez facing charges of graft over his hiring of additional 95 security guards from Excelguard Security and Research Services allegedly without approval from the PSC board. His 90-day suspension was affirmed by the Sandiganbayan on February 20, 2018, and was reaffirmed by the Malacañang on May 11, 2018, through a memo issued by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea. Ramirez began serving the suspension on May 16, 2018, and appointed one of his four commissioners, Arnold Agustin, as acting chairman. Malacañang may still name an acting chairman or officer in charge other than Agustin or appoint a new chairman. Ramirez's tenure as chairman ended on June 30, 2022 coinciding with the expiry of President Duterte's tenure. With Duterte's successor

Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. ( , , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials PBBM or BBM, is a Filipino politician who is the 17th and current president of the Philippines. He previously served as a senat ...

unable to name an immediate successor, Guillermo Iroy took charge of the PSC as its Officer in Charge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Butch Living people Chairpersons of the Philippine Sports Commission Sportspeople from Davao City Arroyo administration personnel Duterte administration personnel 1950 births