POC leadership in limbo, again

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

IT ALREADY happened before, and it’s happening again.

The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the only authority that can send our national athletes to compete in any international events thru the recommendation of our different National sports Associations (NSA).  But the POC leadership is in limbo like it always had been This is sad and pathetic.

Just when we thought things were beginning to look good when Ricky Vargas took the POC hierarchy over Jose “Peping” Cojuangco last year, that everything will be finally running  smoothly, with little or no politicking and and intrigues among our sports leaders, the situation turned from bad to worse. . But “expect the unexpected,” as the saying goes. Vargas suddenly and unexpectedly tendered his irrevocable resignation last June 18 after majority of the POC board of trustees took him to task  on various issues especially his inclusion as one of the incorporators of the Philippine Southeast Asia Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) Foundation and the contract with a company  as official outfitter of the SEAG  athletes. These and others are hounding the country’s hosting the biennial meet scheduled this coming November 30-December 11.

Of course, if you say ‘outfitter,’ obviously there’s big money involved here, and that perhaps this is the root of the brouhaha. Vexed, perplexed, humiliated with a rumored plot to oust him as head of POC, Vargas tendered his irrevocable resignation. That shocked us sports advocates. He reached out to his fellow sports leaders including former POC chief and equestrian president the 82 year-old and 13 years POC president Peping Cojuangco, appealing for unity and transparency, and less politicking, but his plea fell on deaf ears

Note: Vargas defeated Cojuangco during the February 2018 court-ordered special POC election. Vargas is the grandson of former Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (forerunner of POC) chairman Jorge Vargas.

POC chairman Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, able friend of Vargas, subsequently called for General Assembly among NSA presidents last June 25 purposely to hold special election on July 5 as mandated by POC bylaws. Tolentino explained that a candidate should be an incumbent president of an Olympic sport-national sports association for at least four years of experience and active POC General Assembly for at least two straight years. “The first or second vice president of any NSA cannot run for POC presidency pursuant to Article 7, Section 6 of POC bylaws,” Tolentino averred. Let’s wait and see.

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Historically, the Southeast Asia Games is formerly called Southeast Asia Peninsular Games born in 1959 with only six countries participating: Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, South Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, the first host. The Philippines joined the biennial meet in 1977 with Indonesia, Burma. Cambodia joined later. The latest member was East Timor in 2003. Except Timor and Cambodia, the nine countries are hosting the multi-sport biennial meet alternately. The Philippines already hosted the meet three times: 1981, 1991 and 2005. Finally in 2019.

In gold medal harvests, Thailand tops the eleven nations with 2162 gold. Indonesia follows with 1752, Malaysia with 1248 and the Philippines is in fourth place with 918. closely behind Philippines is the city-state Singapore with 894. I fail to remember the scores of the other countries.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives graces to the humble.” 1 PETER 5: 5

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