BOARD members of the Philippine Lawn Tennis Association (Philta) will sit down this week to discuss plans to hold an election of officers on April 28.
Secretary general Romeo Magat said there are many things that need to be ironed out.
So far, the Philta has been embroiled bitter power struggle among its leaders.
And that’s between a group that’s led the association for a long time, and a new group that’s seeking change.
“Hindi pa maliwanag kung paano gagawin ang election. We will discuss sa isang executive board meeting,” said Magat.
Businessman-sportsman Jean Henri Lhuillier has been trying to get the the board’s blessings to run for president since early this year.
And this among the things that the meeting seeks to resolve.
Interim Philta president Edwin Olivarez and his father Pablo, a former Philta president, and other high-ranking officials are expected to be around.
Lhuillier is a candidate who has involved a group of influential tennis stakeholders that wants to assume leadership in the association.
But his efforts were frustrated over the last two years.
In a meeting last February, Lhuillier’s group walked out, and the Philippine Olympic Committee later nullified the result of the election.
The walkout led to withdrawals of leading tennis stakeholders. Among them were Palawan Pawnshop, Cebuana Lhuillier, Tru-Flex, Toby’s, Wilson, BMEG, Henry Sy Memorial Age Group, Dunlop, Babolat and the PCA Open from the umbrella of Philta.
The POC has ordered the staging of new elections,
Formal recognition won’t be given unless the proceedings have been conducted according to prescribed rules.