TOP officials of national sports associations who have been active members of the Philippine Olympic Committee for two consecutive years are eligible for election for president and chairman.
This is just one of the provisions that the executive board of the POC approved following a meeting Thursday at the Philsports Complex in Pasig City.
The provisions, however, will have to be approved by the General Assembly when they meet on Feb. 19.
If approved, the new resolution will be amended into the POC constitution and bylaws, and affirmed by the POC elections’ committee.
“We are guided by the International Olympic Committee letter that we should take it among ourselves. That’s our guiding principle. When things go wrong, we should bring it to the General Assembly,” said POC spokesman Prospero Pichay.
On the legal side, lawyers of the POC will tackle the case that’s going on with the Pasig Regional Trial Court.
The next step is to designate an official representative of a national sports association to the POC general assembly when it holds its extraordinary meeting on Feb. 19.
Once resolved, elections can then be held on Feb. 23.
Pere Miro, IOC director general for National Olympic Committee relations, advised of their recommendations on the situations that the POC is currently facing.
Miro said that it is up to the POC general assembly, and not the courts, which should decide on internal issues concerning elections.
The director general cited Rule 27.6 of the Olympic Charter, which states that the IOC General Assembly has the final authority within the NOC to adopt (and consequently interpret) the NOC constitution, and freely elect the members of the executive board.
The executive board also resolved that each NSA should designate one official representative to the general assembly, and it could be the president, secretary general or vice president.
The board felt that another another acceptable interpretation of active membership is that a member must have attended around 50% of their meetings.
Without such attendance, their presence is only counted as an observer, and can’t be counted for the purpose of quorum or for voting.
They also resolved that the absence of an elected officer in an executive board meeting at least three consecutive times, or a total of five in year, can be grounds for removal.