THE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FIGHT OF RICKY VARGAS

courtesy of spin.ph

What truly makes the fight of Ricky Vargas extremely hard to win is the fact that those who ran before him fulfilled the active member rule.

According to a POC official, Art Macapagal and Go Teng Kok both fulfilled the active member rule when they ran for president in previous POC elections. Both, according to the same POC official, attended the POC General Assemblies regularly. Both were presidents of their respective national federations when they ran. Hence, they were allowed to run by the POC Election Committee.

The same POC official likewise said that the active member rule has been in effect since 1999. But interestingly, in a previous statement, he said that the amendments of the POC charter were only submitted to IOC in 2008.

Nonong Araneta too just adds confusion to the whole issue as he actively participates in the controversy. In his last foray, Araneta zeroes in on the term of office of Peping Cojuangco as POC president. Little does Araneta know that the NOC president of Croatia has been in office for the last 20 years. Zlatko Matesa has just been elected to his fifth term as president of the Croatian Olympic Committee. IOC itself does not set  limits to the term of office of NOC presidents.

Indeed, the fight of Vargas becomes difficult as he and his people refuse to examine past and present events. It will serve Vargas and his people well to research and consult people in the know. Peping and his men are just too smart to be outwitted by people who have nothing to offer but simple rantings that lack research.