POC, PSC officials deal with Tokyo bid

MANILA, Philippines — Top officials of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will go into online discussion tomorrow to tackle the resumption of training for Tokyo-bound athletes and other Olympic hopefuls.

“We will talk about it,” POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino yesterday told The STAR.

PSC officer-in-charge Ramon Fernandez is optimistic the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) will soon officially allow the return to full training of the likes of boxers Eumir Marcial and Irish Magno, who have both booked a spot to Tokyo, and other national athletes with realistic chances of making the Olympic cut.

The meeting will focus on the protocols to be observed and the potential venues they will use for training.

“Of course, all must observe strict health protocols for everyone’s safety,” said Fernandez.

The other two Olympic qualifiers, gymnast Caloy Yulo and pole-vaulter EJ Obiena, have actually started their training in Japan and Italy, respectively, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist, has yet to qualify, and is currently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she continuously trains.

Among those expected to be given training exceptions are female boxer Nesthy Petecio, skateboarder Margielyn Didal, taekwondo jin Pauline Lopez and karateka Junna Tsukii.

Meanwhile, Fernandez said they have loaned 100 laptops to the government for use at the airports’ COVID-19 testing facilities.

Fernandez said they may also donate  500 more laptops that were used in last year’s Southeast Asian Games to the Department of Education for use of public school students and teachers.