LOCAL basketball icon and current baseball chief Chito Loyzaga will face incumbent Bambol Tolentino for the presidency of the Philippine Olympic Committee on November 29, 2024.
Loyzaga announced his candidacy last Wednesday vowing a platform of unity, good governance, transparency, integrity, peace and inclusivity as the country’s sports community continues to evolve and grow. “Our goal is to build an organization that empowers our athletes, supports our coaches, and collaborates openly with stakeholders to achieve excellence,” Loyzaga said in a statement.
A fellow Bedan, Loyzaga likewise envisions a “collaborative environment where all National Sports Associations (NSAs) are involved in decision-making and where accountability and transparency set the foundation for every action.”
Reading between the lines, Loyzaga’s statements mean and pack a lot, which is not surprising.
There are so many things that remain a challenge for sports in the country to flourish. Like basic accounting for one or why some deserving athletes are not included in the national teams for some mundane and unfathomable reasons.
Joining Loyzaga in his epic quest to unseat Tolentino and company are: Al Panlilio of basketball for 1st VP; Bob Bachmann of Squash for 2nd VP; Dr. George Canlas of Surfing for Treasurer and Rod Roque of Weightlifting for Auditor. Rounding up the ticket as Board Members are Rep. Peter Miguel of Archery, Dr. Charlie Ho of Netball, Derek Ramsay of Gymnastics, Steven Virata of Equestrian and good friend and former radio program co-host Rommel Miranda of Kurash. These individuals collectively share Loyzaga’s goals to include ushering a meaningful change to the POC and creating a community where every voice is valued and heard. Moreover, they bring a lot of hope knowing that they can be considered as new faces bringing in new blood that could really invigorate Philippine sports.
“I am committed to fostering an atmosphere where inclusivity and unity guide our path forward. I believe that a united and transparent POC will best serve our athletes, coaches, sports officials, and the entire Philippine sports community,” Loyzaga added.
Loyzaga and his team are in for a tough fight. Under Tolentino’s leadership, the country won its first Olympic gold medal courtesy of Hidilyn Diaz in the Tokyo Summer Games and a brace in the Paris Olympics through Caloy Yulo’s triumphs in the floor exercise and vault events in the men’s gymnastic competitions. But then again, the gold medals won’t be a permanent excuse for what Philippine sports lacks and needs because after the euphoria and drama die, the same problems –like prioritizing a helipad over a playing venue for athletes to hone their skills– that plague sports in the country rear their ugly heads in perpetual motion.
The Designated Kit Man is hoping that whoever is lucky enough to become the 13th president of the POC will truly help our national athletes and the coaches in their pursuit of bringing honor and fame to the country. Bring back delicadeza, honor and accountability, too, and please less of the politics that has been one of the reasons why there is a lot to wish for as far as Philippine sports is concerned.
We hope to hear more from Loyzaga and his team on how they intend to turn their words into concrete and tangible reality.
The Designated Kit Man fervently hopes, too, that in this case, French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr’s words “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”, which means the more things change, the more they stay the same, will not be applicable.
After securing a runner-up finish in the recently concluded Asia 7s Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Philippine Azkals 7s have secured a slot in the World 7s Championship in Brazil next year. Coach Hamed Hajimedhi said that is the ultimate goal of his team, which lost to defending champion Japan in the finals, to go to Brazil. He is also hoping that new players and a longer preparation can be mounted in order to send a stronger team. The ageless Hajimedhi, who also plays as team captain of Mendiola FC 1991 in the domestic league, revealed that they only have two days of practice wherein the whole Azkals 7s were present before competing in the seven-a-side variation of football. He also believed that the team, with Misagh Bahadoran, Stephan Schrock, Daisuke Sato, Mark Hartmann and more, could have beaten Japan had they had enough practice before flying to Malaysia.
On a personal note, I couldn’t express my disappointment that all my Mabuhay Miles that I’ve earned in the last several years and before the pandemic –more than 24,000 at least– were forfeited on February 1, 2023 because of my failure to have a “valid engagement activity within the prescribed period (in my case, from January 01, 2020 to December 31, 2022). These two years are among the hardest years not only for me, but for the majority of the people worldwide because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So pardon me for prioritizing other concerns, like how to survive the challenges of the pandemic and keep my sanity intact, over fulfilling at least one of the seven requisites that the airline company has mandated in order to keep hard earned miles active. It runs contrary to the Rewards program that the airline company proudly boasts, puwede palang bawiin ang rewards na naibigay na sa ‘yo!
I’ve done a lot of traveling just to earn every mile on the Mabuhay Miles. But more than that, I had to endure more than a hundred hours of delayed flights due to various reasons and the occasional condescending attitude toward overseas Filipino workers by some crew – palaging always late ang eroplano whether departure or arrival. Yet I stuck with the airline company throughout those years.
Ito na nga lang pa-consuelo de bobo, binawi pa. You can do better than that PAL.
Stay safe. Stay happy peeps!
For comments or questions, you can reach The Designated Kit Man at erel_cabatbat@yahoo.com or follow his account at Twitter: @erelcabatbat
