AN IOC SUSPENSION IS THE ONLY SOLUTION LEFT FOR POC

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.

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT POC PRESIDENT PART 2 ?

In yet another strange turn of events, Romasanta and majority of the POC board resigned yesterday. Romasanta, Camacho, Jonne Go, Cynthia Carrion, Clint Aranas and Peping Cojuangco resigned to pave the way for a general election. A general election is set on July 5 to fill up the vacant position in POC.

With the general election set, there is hope for a better POC in the days ahead. For the longest time, POC has been the home of too much politics to the point that it has affected the athletes and NSA's negatively. The person who will become the next POC president will undoubtedly set the direction of POC. Thus, the position of POC president is most crucial.

PVF Managing Director Dr. Otie Camangian enumerates the qualities he looks for in the next POC president. He says that the next POC president must have unquestionable integrity and is a good family man. The NSA of the next POC president must have support from government and private sectors that are vital in sustaining various projects and undertakings. Lastly, he or she must also have a five year program that will greatly improve mass and elite sports.

This early, several personalities appear to be front-runners for the POC presidency. Gen. Lucas Managuelod appears to be a solid candidate His muay thai federation continue to produce world champions. Bambol Tolentino was instrumental in the sudden call for new leaders in POC. He can figure prominently in the race as well.

Of course, the Peping bloc can field in its own presidential candidate.But after recent events, it will be hard for the candidates of Peping to pick up the pieces and make one final go for the POC leadership. People have simply had enough of Cojuangco and his allies.The time really has come for new leadership in POC.

TIME TO REMOVE THE "MAJORITY OF THE BOARD" IN POC

courtesy of interaksyon.com

The unexpected resignation of Ricky Vargas as POC president underscores the hopelessness that Vargas felt as he tried to effect significant changes in POC. The "majority of the board" were more interested in protecting their selfish interests prompting Vargas to simply give up and walk away.

courtesy of tempo.com.ph

As the "majority of the board" continue to hold the Filipino sports community in hostage, their long list of offenses remain unresolved and unanswered. From the illegal disenfranchisement of NSA's, unliquidated funding and procurement of millions of pesos as allowances using taxpayers' money, the "majority of the board" have not been made to answer for their various offenses.

courtesy of spin.ph

What makes the :majority of the board" so bold despite their offenses against Philippine sports is that they do have the numbers in POC. Every action in POC has become a numbers game. A wrong can be made right through the numbers game. And more often than not, this is what happens in POC.

courtesy of filipino.cn.cn

But the "majority of the board" have pushed their luck way too much this time. They have put the interest of the nation secondary to their desire to completely control the SEA Games hosting and the 6B peso budget that goes with it. They have dared to go against the wishes of government at this point.

courtesy of spin.ph

Thus, the need to remove the "majority of the board" becomes imperative and urgent. Philippine sports with all its athletes have suffered long enough under the hands of the "majority of the board". The Filipino people, with the help of government, must work hard to save whatever is left of Philippine sports. It is time for the Filipino people to unite and stand against the tyranny of the "majority of the board" in POC.

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT POC PRESIDENT?

With the sudden and unexpected resignation of Ricky Vargas, the position of POC president becomes up for grabs. Vie-Presidents Joey Romasanta and Jeff Tamayo are ineligible to occupy the top POC post according to POC Chairman Bambol Tolentino. Thus, the need to elect a new POC president.

Several personalities are being considered for the all-important position. From the Peping bloc, Clint Aranas of archery is a front-runner. From the Vargas group, Bambol Tolentino of cycling and Gen. Lucas Managuelod of muay thai are being seriously considered. Businessmen Jean Henri Lhuillier of tennis and Hans Sy of skating are dark horses.

With the current POC administration in turmoil, The new POC president will have his work cut out for him. The politics in POC are great and unbearable, prompting Vargas to quit. Thus, the incoming POC president must be made of sterner stuff to withstand the intense politics. At the same time, he must have the determination to really put the pests in POC in place to be able to serve the interest of the athletes and Filipino people in general. He must have the political will to do the right thing in the face of the possible corruption that may arise in POC. The attraction of the 6B peso budget of the SEA Games hosting is too hard to resist for some corrupt personalities in POC, after all.

Indeed, the new POC president must come in to save Philippine sports from corruption and too much politics.

POC MUST RECOGNIZE AND REINSTATE PVF NOW

At the 36th FIVB Congress, only 49% of the General Assembly voted to expel PVF. The percentage failed to reach the 75% mark which is what is needed to expel PVF from FIVB. Hence, PVF remains the full member of FIVB.

But FIVB BA refuses to honor the decision of the highest authority in FIVB and points to POC as the reason why PVF remains suspended. In a letter by FIVB Executive Director Fabio Azevedo to PVF, Azevedo cites PVF's non- membership to POC for the continued suspension. FIVB BA has cleverly passed the blame to POC regarding PVF's continued suspension.

But POC can now immediately recognize and reinstate PVF because the fact remains that it is still PVF that remains the one and only true member of FIVB for the Philippines. It is still PVF that is the member of FIVB and will remain so forever. Truth of the matter is, there are no legal impediments for the immediate reinstatement of PVF.

The issue in Philippine volleyball is more than just about an institution becoming a national federation once again. It is more about justice and good governance in sports. PVF has suffered for more than four years now all because of the shameless abuse of power of some individuals in POC. Great injustice was served to PVF to protect the selfish interests of some individuals in POC. And justice remains elusive for POC as POC refuses to exercise a strong political will to do the right thing.

But the injustice can now be stopped by the POC itself. All that POC has to do is to confirm with FIVB if PVF indeed remains the true full member of FIVB. And once FIVB confirms that it is still PVF that is the FIVB member, POC can immediately reinstate PVF. It is really that simple.

POC must therefore recognize and reinstate PVF now to show the entire world that is capable of serving justice and is an advocate of good governance in sports.

THE DAY PEPING AND HIS GANG MADE THEIR BIGGEST MISTAKE IN POC

courtesy of insidethegames.biz

When Peping Cojuangco, Jonne Go, Joey Romasanta, Jeff Tamayo, Julian Camacho Jesus Arana and Mikee Cojuangco Jaworski signed the letter dated April 30, 2019 demanding POC President Ricky Vargas to explain his side on various isues pertaining to POC, the group virtually declared war on Vargas. After all, Peping and his gang could have simply raised their concerns in an executive meeting. But as the letter suggests, their intention was really to put Vargas and his people on the spot. The highly confrontational tone of the letter says it all.

What Peping and his gang fail to realize is that they no longer enjoy the same power as before in POC. That they cannot get away with anything and everything that they want now that Vargas and his people occupy important positions in POC. That Vargas and his people are now a formidable force in POC and could be a stumbling block to whatever plan they may have.

The letter of Peping and his gang could very well signal the end of a group of people that has become irrelevant to the times.

NO TO POC COUP PALS

(courtesy of insidethegames.biz)

POC President Ricky Vargas called for an extraordinary General Assembly meeting on May 27, 2019 that will ultimately test his power and authority over the national federations. The coup pals, or the national federation presidents who are aligned with Peping and are planning to stage a coup, will surely boycott the special GA meeting to show that they are still the powers-that-be in Philippine sports. The possibility of a coup against Vargas by the coup pals will increase a thousand fold should Vargas fail to attract the majority of the national federations to attend the GA meeting.

While the present POC president is lacking in so many ways, Vargas remains the better alternative to Peping and his minions. Philippine sports was at its lowest during the days Peping and his pals ruled over just about every sport in the country. To go back to the Dark Ages of Philippine sports by installing Peping and his pals at the top of the heap once again will only mean that the Filipino sports community never learned the bitter lessons of the past. To give Peping and his pals great power once again will mean that Filipinos are truly a hopeless case.

Vargas will do well not to surrender the POC presidency and authority to the POC coup pals at this crucial stage of the game. The coup pals had their chances to leave a great legacy to Philippine sports. Unfortunately, they chose and continue to choose to serve their own interests rather than those of the athletes.

A comeback by the POC coup pals is simply unacceptable.

No to POC coup pals.