Protest and silence

Former Philippine Sports Commission chairman Perry Mequi and current PSC commissioner Mon Fernandez led separate rallies Thursday in Manila and Cebu, respectively, calling for the ouster of Philippine Olympic Committee president Peping Cojuangco. The timing of the protests – coinciding with the 45th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, may have worked against those involved, as their numbers were diluted by the polar opposites of people taking to the streets for other issues, and those simply taking the day off. But the message did get across. This is not a matter of a few dozen disgruntled sports officials. This is an issue worth billions of pesos, and priceless national pride.

The sports involved, among them volleyball, swimming, football and dragon boat, are just a few that have been bullied and negatively impacted by unnecessary politics. Some have been crippled in alleged reprisal since their leaders voted for Art Macapagal when he ran for POC president against Cojuangco in 2008. Others have been suffering longer. How many sports have split into two groups in the last few years alone? How many more have been rendered inutile when simple compromise would have solved differences?

It has become an issue of replacement primarily for two reasons. First, there is no openness to change, to evolution, no conciliatory effort to include the newer, bright leaders who can contribute so much and, in the end, make the POC sparkle. When veteran sports leaders already in their fifties – their fifties, mind you – are not allowed a voice in the committee’s highest levels, what other recourse do they have.

And secondly, the evil twins of entitlement and vindictiveness reign. When a new idea or even the suggestion of cooperation is broached, the proponent is curtly cut off, and accused of being a lackey of the PSC chair. How unstatesmanlike. So what other recourse would decent, hard-working sports officials have? Do they stay silent and pray for change as their athletes (and our money) are used up unwisely? There is no such thing as stagnation, not in sports. There is only growth or decay. Obviously, many sports are in decay.

There are multiple definitions of the word “committee”. To wit: “a person or group of persons elected or appointed to perform some service or function”; “a small group of people chosen to represent a larger organization”, “a group of people who come together to work on a project”. Note the words “represent”, “service” and “come together to work”. How can you represent someone when you are muzzled at the very least, denied your privileges as a recognized national sports association at worst? If you are the perpetrator of these exclusionary, politically polarizing maneuvers, who are you serving but yourself? And clearly, you are not working together with your fellows, your co-equal NSA leaders. How will progress be achieved? If it takes a village to raise a child (how much more an athlete), how will Philippine sports get anywhere?

What galls many of these sports officials is the lack even of trite, token acknowledgment that there is a problem. Worse, their feelings of being treated like they are less than their entrenched counterparts is unacceptable to them. Not even a system-generated “We’ll look into it” or “We’ll take it under advisement” or the new, curt text standard, “Noted.” They are simply ignored until the anger subsides below the tipping point, and everyone has to get back to really working for Philippine sports again. Then, the whole thing starts over again. It’s like being harassed by a village gatekeeper every day when you go to work. They make it harder to do your job even if there’s no reason for it. And that is the most obvious problem. What is the reason all of this is happening? Why are the athletes failing? Why do solid, long-standing organizations fall apart, get left in the dust, or break up, further dividing already meager resources?

And all this is met with ear-shattering silence. Not even an acknowledgment, not since that gravely insensitive “move on” statement as the smoke was yet to clear and the wounded has not even planed out of the hell of Kuala Lumpur’s farcical SEA Games. How many medals did we lose from cheating? How many Filipino athletes were blindsided by intentionally bad scheduling, unfair questions of eligibility, and just bad officiating? Where was the rightful indignation from our highest private sports officials? Only... silence.

Don’t worry, boys. Let’s just ride out this rabble-rousing for now. This will soon be forgotten. We’ll get even with ‘em in Manila in 2019.