By CARLO ANOLIN
The Philippine Olympic Committee opted to reset its first General Assembly (GA) of the year from Jan. 12 to Jan. 26 following the surge of the COVID-19 Omicron variant in the country.
POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino made the decision to observe proper protocols and safety measures and added that he doesn’t want to risk the health of its members and officials amid the COVID-19 spike after the holidays.
“We just cannot risk everybody’s health and although we have a stacked agenda to start the year, we have to heed protocols,” said Tolentino.
The stacked agenda included updates and finalization of tasks for the XXIV Winter Olympics on Feb. 4 in Beijing, China, the 31st Southeast Asian Games in May in Hanoi, Vietnam, and the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China in September.
The POC also considered the 2024 Paris Olympics as priority agenda.
Meanwhile, the postponement, Tolentino said, also deferred the GA’s ratification of the recommendations of the POC Ethics Committee with the declaration of Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) president Philip Ella Juico as persona non grata.
Interestingly, it came a day after Patafa agreed to defer the implementation of the administrative committee’s recommendations to expel pole vaulter EJ Obiena from the national team.
More updates on the POC’s financial aid program on athletes and coaches who were affected by Typhoon Odette would also be discussed soon. The GA was scheduled at the Grandmaster Hotel in Tagaytay City.
On Thursday, Jan. 6, COVID-19 infections soared to 17,220, considered as the new highest single-day tally since Sept. 27, 2021 with 18,449 cases at that time.
The Department of Health on Thursday also reported the detection of 29 additional cases of Omicron variant in the country.
