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| courtesy of Wikipedia |
Through the years, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) committed grave abuse of power and cases of corruption to the detriment of Philippine sports. And POC gets away with it in connivance with the POC General Assembly (GA) that continues to be a rubber stamp of the POC leadership. POC has failed to serve its true purpose through the years that an IOC suspension through government intervention now becomes the best and only solution left to save Philippine sports.
An IOC suspension can be positive according to former POC President Cristy Ramos in a recent interview. An IOC suspension, in fact, will allow a complete overhaul of the dysfunctional POC, which is badly needed at this time. It will give government the opportunity to clean up the different NSA's through an election where only the true stakeholders can vote and decide the fate of a particular sport. This will prevent the likes of Romasanta, Tamayo and Jonne Go from occupying the presidency in any NSA as they do not belong to any club or association affiliated with any NSA. As things stand now, majority of the NSA presidents are not legitimate stakeholders of their NSA's. Thus, an IOC suspension will address this problem.
An IOC suspension likewise will not prevent Filipino athletes from participating in the SEA Games, Asian Games and Olympic Games. Our athletes can still participate in the Games but not under the Philippine flag. They will just have to play under a different flag.
Lastly, an IOC suspension can easily be lifted. The country merely has to comply with the requirements set by IOC for reinstatement. An IOC suspension is temporary and not permanent.
POC has come to a point where it is beyond repair via its members. Drastic times call for drastic action. An IOC suspension will create a death that will usher in a new life. Government must truly consider stepping in to solicit an IOC suspension to save Philippine sports and the athletes that it is duty-bound to protect and serve.
