by Nick Giongco
Philippine Olympic Committee Chairman and Tagaytay Rep. Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino yesterday reminded his peers at the POC to speed up the process for the election of a new president, citing a POC provision that a vacancy “must be filled within 30 days” following a resignation.
Tolentino pointed out that since Ricky Vargas stepped down as POC president on June 18, the vacancy should be filled within 30 days and that “the latest we can have an election is July 18.”
Last Monday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sent a letter to the POC Executive Board, urging everyone to be guided by the IOC’s mandate and follow the POC charter when attempting to resolve issues.
Aside from Vargas, those who have formally resigned include archery’s Clint Aranas and gymnastics’ Cynthia Carrion although first vice-president Joey Romasanta, treasurer Julian Camacho and auditor Jonne Go had also announced theirs, albeit verbally, during a meeting last June 25.
The IOC letter, however, made it clear that only formal resignations (written), will be honored and those who have also decided to follow should do so by Friday.
However, given the sudden change of the POC landscape, it appears that only Vargas and those of Aranas and Carrion, will live up to their earlier pronouncements.
