THE New Year is supposed to ring in the new, but the disturbing news that Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco will be seeking a fourth term for the top POC post has just defeated this long-held belief, at least in the Philippine sports scene.
The news was announced by POC treasurer Julian Camacho, who said Cojuangco will run “with or without an opposing candidate.”
I call this “disturbing” because if we, or the national sports association presidents who are mandated to choose their new leader, allow Cojuangco to run again, they tacitly admit that there’s no one among themselves who are courageous enough to challenge the status quo and effect the much-needed change in Philippine sports.
Of course, running against Cojuangco, a tested politician and the uncle of the sitting president of this country, is like battling the windmill. The late Art Macapagal tried to make a go of it, but was beaten by a slim margin of two votes, 21-19. Insiders will tell you that Macapagal lost because of the sudden change of loyalties as voting day neared. You figure it out.
I don’t really have anything against Cojuangco personally, but when a sports official overstays, then he should be man enough to quit and let go.
You see, the barometer of an effective leader will always be measured by results. In the last Southeast Asian Games, for instance, the Philippines placed sixth overall with 29 gold medals, one of the worst results ever in the biennial games.
The POC didn’t lack excuses for the dismal performance of the athletes, but the Filipino people aren’t fooled because numbers don’t lie. The POC, under Cojuangco’s watch, failed again to train and prepare and motivate the athletes adequately, despite all the noises it made prior to the games.
Camacho also tells us that Cojuangco, who is 81 years old, is still strong enough to lead the POC to a new term. But that’s like telling us that there’s no one among the 40 NSA heads, all younger than the POC president, who are capable of taking on the mantle of leadership, because one, they aren’t capable, and two, they are all afraid of taking on the sitting POC president.
So in the next few months, before the election for a new POC president on Nov. 5, the challenge for NSA leaders is step up to the plate and declare his or her intention to run as POC president.
I wait with bated breath.
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In a dinner conversation with sportswriters, GlobalPort assistant coach Boni Tan, said that winning Game 1 of the Philippine Cup semifinal series is paramount for the Batang Pier. He said that securing Game 1 against the Alaska Aces, which has yet to happen as of this writing, will give Globalport an 80 percent chance of winning their best-of-seven semis series. I wanted to voice my disagreement but didn’t (the free dinner will do that), because I see it less than that, maybe a more conservative 65 percent. Still, it would make an exciting series if the Batang Pier win Game 1.
For reactions, e-mail me at armero_23@yahoo.com