Beef History: A look into POC-PSC disputes throughout the years

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine sports scene has once again been shaken after Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Ricky Vargas tendered his irrevocable resignation on Tuesday.

Vargas’ departure comes less than six months before the Philippines hosts the 30th Southeast Asian Games later this year.

Vargas filed his resignation after being involved in various issues hounding the country's SEA Games hosting.

Prior to this, Vargas also had disputes with fellow leaders.

But controversies surrounding Philippine sports are hardly new.

Since the Philippine Sports Commission's (PSC) creation in 1990, personalities from both the POC and the POC have often locked horns.

Philstar.com takes you through the rifts and issues pestering Philippine sports and its athletes through the years.

2000s

The POC and the PSC have already had misunderstandings as early as 2003.

In January 2003, Then PSC Chairman Eric Buhain accused the POC of bypassing their authority after forming a technical commission in preparation for the 2003 SEA Games in Vietnam.

The commission replaced a task force formed by both the PSC and POC.

Meanwhile, the POC took a jab at Buhain's PSC in response, saying that all international tournaments are exclusively POC matters.

The rift further escalated six years later in 2009, when PSC Chairman Harry Angping filed a plunder case against POC President Peping Cojuangco's ally then Bacolod Representative Monico Puentevella.

Both Cojuangco and Puentevella were questioned when they had failed to come up with authentic liquidation documents for Php50.5 million worth of funds in the 2005 SEA Games in Manila.

The feud worsened in the two months that followed with disputes regarding the number of SEA Games-bound athletes that year, further aggravating the institutions' relations in October.

Then in November, the PSC threatened to file malversation cases against POC officials for unaccounted for funds for the 2005 SEA Games.

2010s to Present

As the decade passed, misunderstandings and rifts among the PSC, POC and the National Sports Associations (NSAs) were still present.

In 2010, POC President Cojuangco criticized the PSC for allegedly intervening with its relations with the NSAs.

Cojuangco went as far as saying that the PSC was threatening NSAs.

Some of the NSAs at the time were dealing with leadership disputes, prompting the PSC to close the offices of involved NSAs.

Seven years later, PSC Commissioner Mon Fernandez picked a bone with still POC President Cojuangco.

Fernandez threatened Cojuangco with a libel case in March of that year after the latter accused him of game-fixing while Fernandez was still in the PBA.

Cojuangco had made the remark after another dispute between the POC and PSC.

Later that year, the PSC called for a fraud audit on the POC for unliquidated financial assistance.

In 2019, the controversies continue as the country gets set to host another edition of the SEA Games.

This time, the POC seems to implode as internal conflicts put hurdles in the Philippines' hosting.

Vargas, who replaced Cojuangco as POC President in 2018, found himself in the middle of controversies.

Last month, Vargas sacked Cojuangco and other high-ranked POC officials after claiming he could no longer put trust in them.

A few weeks after, Vargas left his post.

While the PSC assures that the SEA Games hosting will still push through, it has clearly become difficult for Philippine sports to thrive with the two entities contradicting each other frequently.

Can the POC and the PSC unite for a better political environment for the athletes? Filipino sports faithful can only hope so. - With research by Gab Alicaya and Blanch Ancla