POC reaffirms cooperative agreement

MANILA, Philippines — POC president Ricky Vargas worked out a landmark resolution with the POC Executive Board in a unifying two-hour meeting at the POC Office in the PhilSports Complex, Pasig, the other day and emerged from the tense gathering fully confident that things are now moving forward in the staging of the Southeast Asian Games here late this year.

Vargas called on the Executive Board to unite for the sake of the country and the Filipino athletes while reiterating his position of transparency in pushing the POC to a level of ISO certification for good governance. He expressed his gratitude to those who attended the meeting for their support in unanimously approving a resolution that reaffirmed the POC’s authorization of PHISGOC as the SEA Games organizing committee.

Present at the meeting were former POC president Jose Cojuangco, Jr., chairman Rep. Abraham Tolentino, first vice president Joey Romasanta, second vice president Tony Tamayo, secretary-general Patrick Gregorio, deputy secretary-general Karen Caballero, treasurer Julian Camacho, auditor Jonne Go and board members Cynthia Carrion, Robert Mananquil, Rep. Butch Pichay and Frank Elizalde. Also attending were corporate secretary Atty. Al Agra, communications director Ed Picson and general manager Art Aro.

The resolution confirmed the appointment of former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Peter Cayetano as PHISGOC chairman solely for the purpose of the coming SEA Games and the authorization of Vargas to enter into a cooperative agreement with PHISGOC and PSC where the POC will supervise PHISGOC for the benefit of the SEA Games Federation, unused PHISGOC funds will be donated to POC for the benefit of Filipino athletes, regular operations/financial /management reports will be submitted by PHISGOC to POC and all contracts entered into by PHISGOC will be reviewed by a POC Board Member designated by Vargas.

Vargas mentioned that in a letter dated Aug. 16, 2017, Cojuangco as POC president had appointed Cayetano as overall chairman of the SEA Games Organizing Committee. Cayetano then created PHISGOC as a foundation to be the corporate vehicle staging the SEA Games. PHISGOC’s authority was limited to the coming SEA Games by the POC Executive Board.

Vargas said he has spoken with Cayetano and PSC chairman Butch Ramirez in getting the POC, PHISGOC and PSC on the same page. “The responsibilities in our cooperative agreement are clear,” said Vargas. “The POC has control of the Games or the content, PSC the funding primarily for the training of athletes and PHISGOC the staging of the SEA Games, including production, marketing and media. Sec. Alan is concerned about the event and will leave nothing to chance in making sure our hosting is a success. Chairman Butch is doing his best to support our joint effort under the circumstances. Our common bond is our love of country and passion for sports. We are informed that the budget for the SEA Games is coming soon. We’re delayed in the training of our athletes but we’re trying to make do with less than optimal conditions. Once the budget kicks in, we’ll be going full blast and we’re excited to make things happen. We’re encouraged by the expression of support from our athletes like Hidilyn Diaz, Cheska Altomonte and Nikko Huelgas who are with us in calling for an end to politics in sports and getting everyone together.”

Vargas said a task force will be formed to coordinate the training of athletes with the PSC and POC. PSC executive director Atty. Guillermo Iroy, Romasanta, Caballero and Picson were nominated to comprise the task force.

Vargas said Elizalde was a positive influence at the Executive Board meeting. “Mr. Elizalde spoke out, saying it was foolish to even talk about not pushing through with the hosting of the SEA Games,” he said. “Nobody wants to change horses at midstream. We spoke about Sec. Alan’s appointment and the creation of PHISGOC and a resolution was made to reaffirm everything. Unfortunately, media got involved in the mess where it was even reported that Thailand and Indonesia were ready to step in if we withdraw from hosting. Thailand and Indonesia later issued a statement of support for POC. We’re not quitters, we’re determined to host the SEA Games successfully with the PSC, PHISGOC and POC in a cooperative agreement.”