On with POC cha-cha?

MANILA, Philippines – The POC Executive Board will be convened in a Zoom meeting at 10 this morning and at the top of the agenda is a discussion on three key amendments to the Constitution as prepared by a Technical Working Group (TWG) headed by Atty. Al Agra, reviewed thrice by the IOC and approved by the Committee on Constitutional Amendments chaired by ABAP president Ricky Vargas.

POC president Rep. Bambol Tolentino confirmed yesterday that Vargas’ committee endorsed the amendments for inclusion in the Executive Board agenda. “Whatever is agreed will be ratified by the General Assembly,” said Tolentino. The process of approving amendments is explained in the POC Constitution: “By-Laws may be amended by 2/3 of the Executive Board and thereafter by the General Assembly of the POC convened especially for that purpose with the provision that at least 2/3 of the voting members shall attend and that the decision shall be made by at least 2/3 of the voting members present…any such amendments shall be effective and binding only upon the approval of the IOC.”

Tolentino said the proposed amendments went through a thorough study and vetting. The TWG, composed of three lawyers, prepared the amendments which were then reviewed by the IOC thrice before the final draft was approved by Vargas’ committee with modifications. The composition of the Executive Board is as follows: chairman Steve Hontiveros, president Tolentino, first vice president Joey Romasanta, second vice president Jeff Tamayo, secretary-general Edwin Gastanes, treasurer Julian Camacho, auditor Jonne Go and members Clint Aranas, Cynthia Carrion, Rep. Butch Pichay, Robert Mananquil, Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski and immediate past president Vargas. IOC honorary member Frank Elizalde and deputy secretary-general Mayor Richard Gomez are non-voting members of the Board.

The three amendments are setting an age limit of 70 for POC positions, restricting POC officers to represent only one NSA and requiring an NSA to be recognized by its International Federation (IF). Among the Executive Board members who will be affected by the age limit are Hontiveros, 75, Romasanta, 75, and Camacho, 76. Tolentino, 56, will himself be constrained to give up an NSA position as he is concurrently cycling president and chess secretary-general if the amendment to represent only one NSA is approved. “Yes, I’m giving up chess,” said Tolentino.

Former POC legal counsel Atty. Victor (Toto) Africa said it’s timely to implement the age limit of 70 which the IOC itself has imposed. “You can’t hold on to your positions forever,” he said. “It’s time to accept reality and bite the bullet. Let the young ones take over. Those who are over 70 can still be involved in sports as mentors or in a Council of Elders. You don’t want sports officials to be too old that our young athletes aren’t able to relate because of the wide generation gap. Iba na ang thinking, puso at tuhod and if an athlete is in his or her 20s and you’re a sport official in your 70s, it could be two generations apart. You want a relationship between a sports official and an athlete to be like a parent to a child, not a grandparent to a grandchild. For sure, the IOC will approve this amendment because it has this age limit.”

On representing more than one NSA, Africa said it’s hard enough to manage one NSA. “You can’t serve two masters,” he said. “You need to be obsessed with your NSA. Dapat bigay-lahat. It’s hard to split your dedication. You want a sports official to be fully focused on one NSA, that’s all.” Regarding an NSA’s recognition by its IF, Africa said it’s a requirement that must be imposed by the POC. There are certain NSAs that have lost recognition from their IFs and should be struck out of the POC rolls.

“What I’ve been proposing to the sports community as a sports advocate and reformer is to verbalize a moral philosophy of sports,” said Africa who served at least 10 years in the POC and is now 75. “Why are we into sports? What is sports in the context of our nation? This should be our lighthouse, beacon, guiding light, compass and blueprint that will determine our direction in sports. We could use this as a preamble to the POC Constitution. I think this statement of our sports philosophy will define the role of sports in our society and guide us in developing sports.”