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Philippines, 26 Nov 2024 |
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WE NEED REVOLUTIONARIES IN PHILIPPINE SPORTS By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Thu, 29 Nov 2012  Andres Bonifacio.
It is indeed significant that our nation and people today celebrate the birthday of one of our great national heroes and revolutionaries Andres Bonifacio who was born on November 30, 1863 and was executed on May 10, 1897. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia states that Bonifacio?s death is alternately viewed as a justified execution for treason and a ?legal murder? fueled by politics. How particularly appropriate it seems in relation to the Philippine Olympic Committee elections which will take place on Friday at the posh Alabang Country club which in itself underscores the differences between Bonifacio who is considered the father of the Philippine revolution and later the supreme leader of the Katipunan movement which fought for the independence of our country from Spanish colonial rule. In fact there was a split between Bonifacio who was one of the less affluent members and the wealthy more conservative group that believed in peaceful reform. Indeed, rather than hold the elections at the POC headquarters and save scarce funds it seems the environment of anmore elegant venue with a well laid out golf course in which POC president Jose ?Peping? Cojuangco and his Philippine Sports Commission buddy Richie Garcia are more at home, was chosen. The setting for the POC elections, especially for the position of president where ?Peping? Cojuangco is seeking a third term which he will win by default after his only rival, Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation president Go Teng Kok decided, at the last minute, to withdraw his manifestation before the Pasig Regional Trial Court seeking a Temporary Restraining Order after the so-called POC Comelec denied his right to run in the elections, facetiously stating it would ? do more harm than good? is anomalous. For the record a longtime ?Peping? buddy in the House of Representatives, Concoy Chavez, who must have mastered the craft of wheeling and dealing, penned the decision against Go Teng Kok as chairman of the so-called POC Comelec supported, quite surprisingly, by former Ateneo basketball player Ricky Palou and Bro. Bernie Oca of La Salle. For sure the politically powerful had their way and the maverick Go Teng Kok was effectively sidelined and silenced some one hour after he told us and many others including the patrons of the Reformist Group opposing Cojuangco?s hand-picked ticket, that he had filed for a TRO and would fight to the bitter end. What transpired within an hour that made Go Teng Kok change his mind is anybody?s guess but the acceptable theories are that he struck a deal with Cojuangco whom he had supported against Arturo Macapagal in the last elections, in return for some favors. What they are, we honestly do not know. Go Teng Kok is known to be someone with a questionable background whose appointment by then BAP president Lito Puyat as manager of the all-PBA Philippine team to the Asian Games in Beijing in 1990 we criticized, since at that time there were some 30 estafa cases filed against him although none of those cases moved, similar to the reported charges for plunder filed by former PSC chairman Harry Angping against POC leaders with the Ombudsman which have apparently, also gathered dust since 2009. Since then there have been rumors of Go Teng Kok?s allegedly improper conduct and business dealings but in fairness to him there has been no evidence made public. But there is a school of thought that politically powerful individuals like Cojuangco who, after all is the uncle of President Benigno Aquino III had the ability as well as the connections to probably put together a dossier on Go Teng Kok?s activities and confront him with it, forcing him to make a sudden turnaround. Of course we must believe that even if this conjecture is true, that the President was unaware of such a move nor would he possibly condone it. Effectively it may well have been a legal murder of an attempt to have Cojuangco and his POC group respect the rule of law since their effort to declare him persona non grata by the POC executive committee and expelled by the general assembly were declared illegal by Pasig Regional Trial Court judge Bonifacio and sustained by the Supreme Court which, in a decision penned by no lass than Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno, dismissed Cojuangco?s plea to have the RTC ruling over-turned. In what was clearly an affront to the courts and a display of arrogance, ?Peping? Cojuangco said the TRO ?is a form of government intervention and we could face suspension from the IOC (International Olympic Committee).? That is unvarnished bull. In a posture that reflected his disregard of our courts and the rule of law he bluntly stated ?A TRO is not applicable in proceedings such as the POC elections. The exercise is government by the IOC and nothing else.? What Cojuangco refused to admit is that the procedure by which his group engineered the ouster of Go Teng Kok was not in keeping with the rules and regulations of the IOC and in fact a clear violation of its charter. That charter states that any individual has the right to be heard by the IOC (in this case the POC) and any body competent to apply a measure, or sanction such individual. More importantly the charter states ?the right to be heard in the sense of this provision includes the right to be acquainted with the charges and the right to appear personally or submit a defebse in writing.? Clearly, these rights enshrined in the IOC charter were denied Go Teng Kok. It is difficult to comprehend Go Teng Kok?s sudden turnaround. The scores of text messages he sent numerous individuals speak for themselves. In one of his later text messages he said ?what the POC head is doing to me cannot seal my mouth for telling the truth and I just cant take it standing, doing nothing even if they think they are above the law. I am going back to the courts for my legal rights as a citizen of the Republic. This step may affect Philippine sports but its their fault, not mine.? He went on to state that he was ?submitting myself to you people concerned and willing to go to jail or any consequence if I committed serious offense by only defending myself and personal dignity. Judge me.? It is indeed a sad commentary on the state of Philippine sports, the utter lack of decency and integrity which demands an internal revolution at the very least. There may not be an Andres Bonifacio within the POC ranks but there are a number of good men seeking to right the wrongs of the past eight years under Cojuangco in the form of the Reformist Group that endeavors to win a crucial majority of the key positions and surround Cojuangco so that he would be forced ? if indeed that is possible given his track record ? to do what is right. We will find out on Bonifacio Day whether there are any true revolutionaries or genuine reformists within the National Sports Associations who would, on this historic day, reflect by the power of the ballot the changes our people are crying out for and our young athletes both men and women, have long deserved. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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