CITING delicadeza, newly-elected Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Bambol Tolentino will relinquish his post as chief of mission of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with the appointment of a new go-to guy sometime next week.
“It doesn’t look good since I am already the (POC) president,” said Tolentino on Tuesday.
Tolentino was appointed by former POC president Ricky Vargas and recent events compelled the cycling chief and Tagaytay congressman to yield.
The Tokyo Olympics takes place July 24-Aug. 9 with the Philippines, once again, aiming to end the century-old gold medal drought.
In Rio 2016, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz settled for the silver and she is once again at the forefront of the country’s ambitious bid to win the Olympics’ ultimate prize.
Two key POC meetings are on tap: the Executive Committee on Friday and the General Assembly on Aug. 13.
Tolentino said major issues will be tackled and hopefully resolved in these two affairs as he bats for unity among sports leaders going into the hosting of the Southeast Asian Games and next year’s Olympics.
Last week, Tolentino called for a meeting but no one, except for chairman Steve Hontiveros, graced the affair as those expected to attend cited various reasons.
Tolentino said he would love to see more Filipino athletes make the Olympic grade so he can appoint a deputy CDM.
“If we can only send a small number, there’ll be no use to assign a deputy (CDM),” added Tolentino.
In Rio, only 13 in eight sports qualified and they came from boxing, golf, judo, track and field, swimming, taekwondo and table tennis. (NICK GIONGCO)
