PHILIPPINE SPORTS : A STORY TO TELL

courtesy of parkiaki.com

Hundreds of national athletes, coaches and federation officials have suffered and continue to suffer under the leadership of Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Jose Cojuangco Jr. and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Richie Garcia.  So many have experienced injustice at the hands of the two said sports officials and their minions. Sadly, the world has yet to hear of the suffering that Filipino athletes, coaches and sports officials must endure to chase their dreams of sports excellence.

But the time has now come for the world to hear of the story that deserves to be heard. It is time for Filipino athletes to tell their story of shattered dreams and helplessness against sports officials who bring nothing but pain and difficulty. Several prestigious and concerned sports organizations have already expressed interest in covering the story of Philippine sports.

The burden now is to provide documents and evidences of corruption and grave abuse of power of the POC President, PSC Chairman and their cohorts. With the large number of Filipino athletes and sports officials who have experienced several forms of abuse, oppression and injustice from the powers-that-be in Philippine sports, evidences will certainly pour in. Then, the whole world will finally know what is truly happening.

I only hope that the story will serve as an eye-opener to other athletes and sports officials in other nations who are experiencing corruption and injustice in such a noble vocation like sports. Kudos to all the sports organizations who dare to care.

NOTHING HAS CHANGED SINCE 2009

05-06-2009, 10:11 PM

NATIONAL SPORTS ASSOCIATIONS (NSA) OF THE PHILIPPINES’
DECLARATION OF SOLIDARITY AND CONCERN FOR PHILIPPINE SPORTS


AS leaders of national sports associations (NSAs) in the Philippines, we are issuing this declaration of concern about the situation now prevailing in Philippine sports. In a series of arbitrary acts, the leadership of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has interfered brazenly in the internal affairs of NSAs, trampling on their autonomy and rights, making a mockery of their elections and betraying the basic principles of the POC and the POC General Assembly.

Instead of atoning for their ineffective leadership of the Philippine contingent in the Beijing Olympics last August and launching a program of reform around which all can rally, POC president Jose Cojuangco Jr. and the POC Executive Board have been obsessed with preserving their hold on power and have sought to install illegally their chosen leaders in various NSAs.

They have carried out this agenda by using a resolution surreptitiously included as part of the President’s Report in the January 24, 2007 meeting of the POC General Assembly. On the pretext that an NSA cannot resolve an internal dispute, the POC board has invoked its supposed authority to mediate and arbitrate and inflicted its will on the association. By doing so, it has willfully ignored and violated our basic rule that the POC General Assembly must ratify any arbitration decision by the POC Board on an internal NSA dispute.

The list of affected NSAs is alarming and growing:

1. ARCHERY
On January 24, 2006, Dr. Leonora Fe S. Brawner submitted her “irrevocable” resignation as president of the National Archery Association of the Philippines (NAAP). In October 2008, Councilor Renato Bartolome was elected as president. This was communicated to the POC, but the latter insisted that it would still recognize Dr. Brawner as president. NAAP’s Board of Trustees, members and athletes signed a manifesto supporting the election of Councilor Bartolome, repudiating Dr. Brawner’s leadership and denouncing POC’s interference as in violation of Philippine laws, the Olympic Charter and the POC Charter. Despite this, the POC insisted in recognizing Dr. Brawner not only as president, but as NAAP’s representative to the General Assembly. It also recognizes Ms. Teresita Lim as acting secretary-general although she was not elected as such by the Board of Trustees.
Not surprisingly, Dr. Brawner voted for Cojuangco in the POC elections in November 2008.

2. CYCLING
In a direct challenge to the duly elected leadership of the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines (ICFP), the POC board supported an illegal election called by disgruntled members in December 2008 at the Amoranto Velodrome in Quezon City on the same day that the ICFP was holding its board meeting in Tagaytay City. The organization did not take it lying down, however. Despite a POC directive not to proceed, the ICFP held its elections in January 2009, and installed as president Mayor Abraham Tolentino of Tagaytay City. The elections were witnessed and recognized by the Union Cyclists International (UCI). The two sets of officers attend POC assembly meetings together, with neither one officially able to vote. The POC board recommended the holding of another election on May 9, 2009 using the 2003 list of voters and informed the UCI about it. The international federation said that another election was “out of the question” and the use of a 2003 voting list “would be an affront to all those who have worked hard for cycling in the Philippines this past 6 years.”

3. SWIMMING
In 2004, during the first year of Mr. Cojuangco’s first term as POC president, the POC installed Mr. Mark Joseph as the provisional head of the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association (PASA) despite the fact that he was not a PASA member or a regional director, and was only a technical official. Joseph got the nod with the proviso that he would conduct regional elections in some regions and afterwards an election of PASA board of directors that would then choose a new PASA leader.
No PASA elections have been held since despite the provision for yearly elections in the by-laws. Association members have been clamoring for elections to no avail.

4. DRAGON BOAT
Because they could not win its support, Mr. Cojuangco and the POC board have sought to downgrade the status of the Philippine Dragon Boat Association (PBDA) from voting member to non-voting member – on the flimsy ground that the sport is one of the disciplines of the International Canoe-Kayak Federation (ICF). The issue had earlier been discussed and rejected by the POC board during the first term of Mr. Cojuangco because of the support for the PBDA by the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF), the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF). But the issue has now been revived by the POC board in order to take away a vote against Mr. Cojuangco. The matter is unresolved to this date.

5. BADMINTON
The legitimate leadership of the Philippine Badminton Association (PBA) is under challenge by a breakaway faction because of the interference of the POC leadership. In September 2008, prior to the POC elections, one faction headed by former national coach Erroll Chan called for a special general membership meeting and conducted an election to replace PBA president Mrs. Amelita Ramos. She contended that the voting was illegal because her two-year term had yet to end in 2009. In November 2008, Mrs. Ramos informed the POC that the PBA would hold its elections in January 2009, and submitted the required election documents. The POC did not give approval, but the elections proceeded without a POC representative present. Eighteen of the 29 registered voters voted in favor of Mrs. Ramos. The election was witnessed by Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Harry Angping, Mr. Eric Loritizo representing POC chairman Monico Fuentebella, and Mr. Go Teng Kok of POC. Mr. Chan and his group continue to contest this election. It is noteworthy that in the January 2007 PBA election wherein Mrs. Ramos was unanimously reelected as president, it was agreed by the general membership present, including Mr. Chan, that the next election be held on January 31, 2009 (two years after).

6. BOWLING
In a bid to save the NSA presidency of POC secretary general Steve Hontiveros, the POC issued a directive that the scheduled elections of the Philippine Bowling Congress (PBC) in January 2009 be postponed on the grounds that its membership list should first be cleared and its charter should be patterned after the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas. The POC succeeded in derailing the vote. But in March 2009, the PBC conducted its election anyway, and installed Mr. Mariano Tamayo as president and Ms. Olivia Bong Coo as secretary-general. The POC board has urged Mr. Hontiveros to contest the validity of the election, but he seems personally weary of the controversy. Meanwhile, Mr. Hontiveros continues to serve as POC secretary-general and member of the POC board without representing an NSA.

7. WUSHU
In elections held in October 2008, just before the POC elections in November, POC treasurer Julian Camacho lost his post as president of the Wushu Federation of the Philippines (WFP). The new board, however, allowed him to cast the vote for the federation in the POC elections, which he thereafter cast for Mr. Cojuangco. After the elections, Mr. Camacho refused to relinquish his post on the advice of the POC leadership. The board now insists that Mr. Camacho is still Wushu president and that WFP should amend its charter to allow him to remain. The WFP board and members are loudly protesting the actions of the POC. Mr. Camacho held his own election on April 25, 2009 after creating a new board of directors. Disregarding the original list of members, they voted for a new president and Mr. Camacho appointed himself as secretary-general. All the athletes, majority of the members and chapters do not support the new board and officers created by Mr. Camacho and the POC.

(SEE PART 2 >>>>>)

ASalvador

05-06-2009, 10:11 PM

8. BILLIARDS
In November 2008, the Billiards & Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) notified the POC that it would hold its elections on December 5, 2008. But the POC secretary-general asked that the elections be deferred because of certain documentary requirements. When the BSCP completed the documents and reset the elections to April 29, 2009, the POC board declared that it was recognizing a splinter group’s call for a March 31 election. Just as alarming, the board mandated that the BSCP use a 2005 voting list instead of a current one in order to manufacture a dubious majority of resigned and dismissed members of the association. The POC board did not allow the use of the BSCP membership lists for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. The legality of the March 31 election is now before the courts. Meanwhile, the BSCP held its General Membership Meeting and Board Elections on April 29, 2009, without a POC representative present. It elected Mr. Sebastian Chua as the new president.

9. EQUESTRIAN
In Mr. Cojuangco’s own sports association, the Equestrian Association of the Philippines (EAP), the POC president abruptly called off the membership meeting and board elections set for March 31, 2009 – upon learning that he would be challenged for its leadership and faced certain defeat. He declared that the election announcement was a secretarial mistake, and that the EAP’s by-laws did not require elections until the year 2012. A majority of members contend that the by-laws clearly call for elections to be held on March 31, 2009, and that the provision for a four-year term would only apply to directors and officers elected then. After the elections failed to take place on the date prescribed in the by-laws, the members petitioned for a special membership meeting and elections, a measure provided for in the EAP’s by-laws. The POC chief fought the initiative with every weapon in his arsenal – including having certain members stricken from the voters’ list and declaring the elections illegal. But the protesting group proceeded with the elections on April 23, 2009 and elected Rep. Carissa Coscolluela as the new president of EAP.

10. WRESTLING
The Wrestling Association of the Philippines (WAP) wrote the POC leadership of its intent to hold its national council meeting and election on December 19, 2008. The POC declined to send a representative; instead, it requested on December 15, 2008 that WAP defer the election. The Council met and decided in good faith to defer the elections, but arrived at a unanimous resolution to retain the incumbent officials.

On April 4, 2009. a national council meeting and election was illegally called by Mr. Albert Balde, auditor of the association. The WAP constitution and by-laws do not authorize an auditor to call for a meeting, much more an election. WAP President Vincent Piccio met with Mr. Cojuangco to protest the election as a gross violation of the constitution -- to no avail. The POC sent Mr. Andrada as POC representative to the April 19, 2005 election, and conferred recognition on the illegally elected officers.

All these battles and irregularities disfigure national sports today for one reason alone: Mr. Cojuangco and the POC board are fomenting them in order to keep their hold on the POC presidency, and to prevent any move to unseat him as POC president by November this year. The NSAs and sports leaders affected all happened to be non-supporters of Mr. Cojuangco.
Many in our sports community and the general public are asking: Do Mr. Cojuangco and the POC board have the power to rule over Philippine sports in this way? Who conferred on them this magisterial power that rivals those of kings and despots?

The answer is NO, they do not have the power.

First, the Olympic Charter, which gives life to the POC, does not confer this power on Mr. Cojuangco and the POC board. On the contrary, the POC resolution and their actions are a travesty of the Charter, which states that “rights and obligations are reciprocal” among and between the different constituent groups comprising the Olympic Movement.

Second, the POC General Assembly – the supreme authority in our national committee -- did not confer this power on the present POC leadership. The controversial resolution, which is the source of all the mischief, was never tabled, discussed or debated by the assembly. It was smuggled in for approval before the unsuspecting assembly of NSA presidents.

Third, these arbitrary acts are in direct violation of Philippine laws governing non-profit organizations and voluntary associations, and impugn the right to autonomy of NSAs under Republic Act 6847 (Section 13). The POC leadership has disregarded them all, outrageously claiming absolute jurisdiction over Philippine sports.

We submit that Mr. Cojuangco and the POC board have arrogated powers that they do not have, and that the fruits of their arbitrary acts must not be allowed to stand.

The situation that has arisen from their actions could not be more detrimental to the welfare and development of Philippine sports. With such irresponsible leadership at the helm and absent a better vision of the future, there is no way for our sports to go but down.

In view therefore of the gravity of the situation, we have agreed to collectively bring to light the state of misgovernance in the POC today and we will seek every remedy available -- in the Olympic Movement, in the courts and on the bar of public opinion – to effect changes in the entire POC system and set aright the wrongs committed.

We want to put in place a system where sports leaders, athletes and stakeholders can truly join together in developing the sporting life of our people, using their talents and energies to compete with other nations, instead of fighting one another.

Signed on the 6th of May 2009
at the Quezon City Sports Club,
E. Rodriguez Ave., Quezon City:

YEN MAKABENTA
Chairman
Billiards & Snooker Congress of the Philippines

AMELITA M. RAMOS
President
Philippine Badminton Association

MA. CARISSA O. COSCOLLUELA
President
Equestrian Association of the Phils.


EDWIN PIMENTEL
Secretary General
Wushu Federation Philippines

RENATO R. BARTOLOME
President
National Archery Association of Philippines

JANE S. ONG
Director
Save PASA Movement

ABRAHAM TOLENTINO
President
Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines

JETRO F. LOZADA
Treasurer & Secretary-General
Wrestling Association of the Philippines

TRIUMPHANT !

The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke

The Philippine Olympic Committee, led by its president Jose Cojuangco and vice-president Jose Romasanta, thinks that it has hurdled all obstacles in establishing Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc. as the new volleyball federation of the Philippines.

But it is deceiving itself in doing so.

First. there is still the ongoing court case in Pasig RTC Branch 154. From the way things stand, POC and LVPI are on the losing end as their defense of disbandment against Philippine Volleyball Federation stands on loose ground. Recently, POC and LVPI committed a grave error that could very well spell their defeat.

Second, no less than the International Olympic Committee has started to investigate the issue in Philippine volleyball. IOC has taken a keen interest in the conflict of interest involving POC officials who installed themselves as officers of the new volleyball federation.

Third, international media have started to dig into the story involving the anomaly between FIVB, AVC POC and LVPI officials. The obvious connivance and corruption between sports bodies make a hot topic for international media following the controversies involving FIFA and IAAF.

A lot of people say I am fighting a lost cause. But I sincerely believe that there are still a lot of good people around the world who will not allow evil to triumph. With God's help, I know that we, not they, will triumph.

BLAST FROM THE PAST : COJUANGCO AND ROMASANTA UNMASKED

GO TENG KOK SEEKS TRO AGAINST HIS OUSTER FROM POC

PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 20 Aug 2011

Charging that his expulsion from the Philippine Olympic Committee was illegal and "a violation of pertinent provisions of the POC Constitution and By Laws as well as the charter of the IOC which gives life to the former” Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association and Karatedo president Go Teng Kok has filed a case before the Pasig Regional Trial Court seeking a TRO “annulling and setting aside his ouster as a member of the POC general assembly.” .

The case was filed by Go Teng Kok’s lawyer and former chess Olympian Sammy Estimo who claimed that the “improvident and unlawful expulsion” through a signature campaign initiated by POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, chairman Monico Puentevella, secretary general Steve Hontiveros, assistant secretary general Mark Joseph and assistant secretary general and spokesman Joey Romasanta was triggered by Go’s expose of “anomalies committed by respondents, led by the plunder cases filed before the Office of the Ombudsman against respondents Cojuangco, Puentebella and Hontiveros as well as the other cases filed against respondents Joseph and Romasanta.” 

Go Teng Kok claimed that the procedure adopted in expelling him “violated the pertinent provisions of the POC constitution and by-laws as well as the charter of the IOC which gives life to the former.”

He quoted Article VI, Section 2 of the POC charter which states that “An NSA representative may be denied or expelled from the General Assembly by 3/4 of the votes cast by the voting members present in the General Assembly”

Go stated that “this provision of the POC constitution clearly nullifies the signature campaign conducted by the petitioners where the signatures of the voting members of the General Assembly were solicited on a piece meal basis for a period of two weeks before the extraordinary meeting. The POC charter mandates that the 3/4 votes needed must be actually cast during the meeting called for the purpose of expelling him.”

Estimo also pointed out that “the resolution in question, dealing with a life-and-death issue involving the lawful rights of petitioner as a member of the POC General Assembly must have been first tabled, discussed or debated in open session by the assembly with petitioner being allowed to be acquainted with the charge/s against him and to prepare for his defense.”

He cited Chapter 2, Section 16, paragraph 3.8.2 of the IOC charter, after which the POC constitution was patterned, which states “The decision to expel an IOC member is taken by the Session upon the proposal of the IOC Executive Board. The member has the right to be heard; such right includes the right to be acquainted with the charges and the right to appear personally or to submit a defense in writing.”

Lawyer Estimo added that Go Teng Kok’s “right to due process, which was denied him by respondents, is also incorporated in the Bill of Rights of the Philippine Constitution., the highest law of the land.”

The petition for a TRO further claimed that Go's "invalid ouster also affected the national interest as it has occasioned delay and deprivation of support and food to PATAFA athletes presently training to represent the country in the next SEA Games to be held in Indonesia this coming November.”

He requested that “for this reason, and to deter other persons from committing acts with similar consequences as those complained against in this action, exemplary damages should also be slapped against respondents.”

In conclusion Estimo stated that the petitioner , Go Teng Kok “has no plain, adequate or speedy remedy other than to petition the Honorable Court for redress and to prohibit respondents, and all persons and agents acting on their behest or authority, from implementing and/or giving effect to the invalid ouster of petitioner as a member of the POC General Assembly.” 

WHAT AILS PHILIPPINE SPORTS ?

Below are the gold medal tallies of the Philippines in the last four stagings of the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games and Olympics :

Southeast Asian Games
2009 - 38 golds
2011 - 36
2013 - 29
1025 - 29

Asian Games :
2002 - 3 golds
2006 - 4
2010 - 3
2014 - 1

Olympics :
2000 - 0 golds
2004 - 0
2008 - 0
2012 - 0

Clearly, the figures show that the country has deteriorated in sports performance through the years.

Filipino sports officials conveniently blame the lack of government support for the deterioration of the country's performance in sports. Philippine Olympic Committee President Jose Cojuangco Jr., in a CNN interview, blamed the government's lack of financial support for the dismal showing of the Philippines in the last SEA Games. But there are several countries that do not give financial support to athletes. The US is one prime example of a country that does not give government financial assistance to its athletes. US athletes and national federations rely solely on private sponsorship. Yet despite the total absence of government support, US athletes continue to dominate just about every major international sporting event.

And this is where the problem lies for Philippine sports. Filipino sports officials lack the vision, capability and credibility to tap the private sector to do its share in sports development. With the likes of Peping Cojuangco and his cohorts running the show for Philippine sports, what reputable sponsor will want to come in and work with them ? Volleyball was lucky enough to corner a 250M peso sponsorship from PLDT Home Ultera and SM Group of Companies. But hand it to Cojuangco and his men to mess things up. Now, volleyball does not receive anything.

Filipino sports fans are to blame for the country's poor performance in sports as well. Fans, and the general public for that matter, refuse to demand excellence from Filipino athletes and officials. The common Filipino fan is happy just to see his or her idol play. Mere participation is highly regarded with complete disregard for a podium finish.

I also believe that the Filipino culture is not right for sports. Filipinos do not have the patience to persevere and put in long hours of practice that last a lifetime. We love shortcuts and the easiest way out. We are impatient as a people.

We also do not value teamwork as much as other nations. Thus, we hardly do well in team sports. Except for dragon boat, the country has yet to produce a world champion in team sports.

Lastly, we generally regard sports as something petty and insignificant. We see sports more as a form of entertainment. Thus, we remain the joke in the world of sports. We do not see sports as something that can unify and bring pride.

Unless Filipinos change their thinking about sports, Philippine sports will remain in the pits forever.

PVF AND PDBF : TALE OF TWO FORMER NATIONAL FEDERATIONS

courtesy of en.wikipedia.org

 courtesy of twitter.com

Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) and Philippine Dragon Boat Federation (PDBF) are two federations that are not recognized now by Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). Both federations are now non-entities as far as POC and PSC are concerned.

It is interesting to note that recognition for PVF and PDBF were withdrawn at a time when both federations were performing extremely well. The teams of PDBF just won 5 gold medals at the IDBF World Championships in Tampa, Florida when POC officials went to IOC to work on the dismantling of PDBF. PDBF teams established world records and was crowned the fastest dragon boat team in the world when POC President Jose Cojuangco went to IOC and asked how PDBF can be dissolved.

PVF, on the other hand, scored a miracle of sorts when it was able to gather the best and most popular volleyball players in the country to form the national teams. PVF too was able to secure in 2014 the biggest private sponsorship to Philippine volleyball. It was shortly thereafter that POC President Peping Cojuangco and POC 1st Vice-President Joey Romasanta went to Thailand to destroy PVF.

There are several commonalities from the series of events involving the disenfranchisement of PVF and PDBF. These are :

1. POC officials made a conscious effort to go to international sports bodies to destroy the two federations. Top POC officials physically went abroad to act on their sinister plans.

2. Both federations have consistently voted against Peping Cojuangco for POC president.

3. The disenfranchisement of both federations occurred merely months away from POC elections.

It is easy to see that the disenfranchisement of PVF and PDBF is all about the preservation of Cojuangco's tenure as POC president. It is really that plain and simple.

End of discussion.

LVPI : A YEAR AFTER

courtesy of em.wikipedia.org

After a year of existence, what has Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas (LVPI) accomplished ?

Absolutely nothing.

Aside from getting LVPI President Joey Romasanta elected to the Asian Volleyball Confederation Board, LVPI has no accomplishment to speak of. The different national teams that it has sent to international competitions were a disgrace to the country. LVPI's teams lost even to collegiate teams by huge margins to highlight how ill-prepared the teams were. National teams were assembled in airports through phone calls at the last minute to show how irresponsible the officials of LVPI are.

LVPI must be held accountable for the new lows in Philippine volleyball as well. For the first time since the country participated in the Southeast Asian Games in 1977, the Philippine women's volleyball team did not win a medal under LVPI. Under LVPI too, the national teams for volleyball were not considered national teams by Philippine Sports Commission. Hence government support were totally denied to the "national players".

Some of the people behind LVPI were involved in highly questionable acts as well. LVPI Secretary General Ricky Palou was accused of signing an official document as president. Tats Suzara, the man known to be the one responsible for the FIVB recognition of LVPI was proven to have violated immigration laws with his Philippine Superliga (PSL). He was fined Php 600,000.00 as a result..

What LVPI has managed to do is to protect the tournaments of its stakeholders. Simply put, LVPI has merely protected the interests of its stakeholders. Shame on LVPI and its officers for merely taking care of their income-generating businesses.

Does LVPI deserve to be the national federation for volleyball ?

I don't think so.