The key vacancies in the new Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) was filled yesterday after the appointment of journalist Charles Maxey and PSC mainstay Arnold Agustin to the board that will be chaired by the returning Butch Ramirez.
Maxey, formerly the sports editor of Sun Star Davao, and Agustin, who heads the PSC Assistance and Coordination division, join pencak silat president Dr. Celia Kiram and basketball great Ramon Fernandez in the board.
Ramirez is also bringing in another Mindanao native, lawyer Carlo Abarquez, to Manila to serve as the executive director, replacing Guillermo Iroy Jr., who served under Ramirez during his first tenure as chairman almost a decade ago.
It is believed that the new appointees were chosen personally by President-elect Rodrigo Duterte.
Ramirez helped in the campaign of Duterte during the elections, while Maxey is likewise no stranger to Duterte as he used to cover the Davao City mayor many years ago.
Ramirez and Maxey also served under Duterte’s sports development program with the two putting together countless activities targeting mainly grassroots development.
It was the Davao Sportswriters Association, which he led from 2005 to 2012, that endorsed the 48-year-old Maxey to the search committee of Duterte less than two weeks ago.
To guarantee a smooth transition, Ramirez will confer with outgoing chairman Richie Garcia this Tuesday afternoon.