‘We serve at GMA’ s pleasure’

Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Carlos "Butch" Tuason yesterday reiterated that only President Arroyo — and not the group of protesting athletes, coaches and officials — could decide whether or not he should keep the top post in the government sports agency.

"We sit here at the President’s pleasure. And it’s the President’s call whether we should remain here or not. If it’s the President who asks us to leave, we will do so," said Tuason in yesterday’s PSA Forum at the Holiday Inn Hotel.

The PSC chief, who took over from Philip Juico in 1998, issued the statement after he was asked if he believes that he still has the trust and confidence of the President following persistent calls for his ouster along with his four commissioners.

"It’s hard to presume whether we still enjoy that trust. Only the President can answer that. We were in China recently and she never mentioned anything to me regarding this issue. In fact, she was very happy with the signing of the sports agreement with the Chinese," Tuason said.

In the same forum, where he was accompanied by commissioners Butch Ramirez and Weena Lim, Tuason also said he is unaware of the plan of the Athletes and Coaches Alliances of the Philippines (ACAP) officials to meet with the President in Malacañang tomorrow.

"I don’t know of that meeting and I would not even comment on that. What I know is that on Friday, we’ll be there in Malacañang because the President will turn over the P3 million cash incentives for our athletes who won gold medals in the recent SEA Games," he said.

An ACAP official has reportedly been flaunting a letter from Malacañang confirming the President’s availability for the said meeting where they are expected to lay all their cards on the table — centering on Tuason’s removal from office on various grounds.

Last week, while Tuason was in Baguio to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), a less than a hundre ACAP members staged a vigil in front of the PSC building inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Center denouncing the Tuason administration.

But the vigil easily died down after only a couple of days. "Ang mahirap sa kanila, dinadaan sa rally instead of negotiating with us. Kung baga sa isang kumpanya, wala pang usapan tungkol sa CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) ay nag-strike na ang employees," Tuason said.