Judgement day kina Tolentino vs Aranas

MANILA, Philippines — Kapwa naniniwala sina incumbent president Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino ng cycling at Atty. Clint Aranas ng archery na may sapat silang bilang ng boto para makopo ang top post ng Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

Ngayong hapon ay magdedesisyon ang 54 botante, kasama ang 51 National Sports Associations (NSAs), kung sino kina Tolentino at Aranas ang kanilang iluluklok bilang pangulo ng POC sa botohang magaganap sa East Ocean Restaurant sa Macapagal Avenue sa Pasay City.

Hangad ni Tolentino ang kanyang full term matapos talunin si Philip Ella Juico ng athletics, 26-18, sa isang snap election noong Hulyo ng 2019 nang biglaang magbitiw si boxing chief Ricky Vargas.

Anuman ang maging resulta ng eleksyon ay iaabot ng 56-anyos na si Tolentino, kinatawan ng 8th District ng Cavite sa Kongreso, ang kanyang kamay sa mga sports leaders.

“This is really coming from my heart,” ani Tolentino. “If we can’t unite now, the momentum of our SEAG (Southeast Asian Games) success (in 2019) will be wasted. The momentum is still there and there is Tokyo. We should focus on that.”

Nasa tiket ni Tolentino para sa kanilang mga tatakbuhang posisyon sina Tom Carrasco ng triathlon (chairman), Al Panlilio ng basketbal (1st vice president), Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez ng fencing (2nd vice president) at modern pentathlon, Cynthia Carrion ng gymnastics (treasurer), Chito Loyzaga (secretary) ng baseball at sina Dave Carter ng judo, Pearl Managuelod ng muay thai, Dr. George Canlas ng surfing at Cong. Prospero Pichay ng chess (board members).

Kasama naman ni Aranas sa kanyang grupo sina Steve Hontiveros ng handball (chairman), Juico, Ada Milby ng rugby(2nd vice president) Julian Camacho ng wushu (treasurer), Monico Puentevella (auditor) ng weightlifting at sina Robert Bachmann ng squash, Charlie Ho ng netball at Robert Manaquil ng billiards and snooker (board members).