by Nick Giongco
Tagaytay Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino formally declared his intention to run for president of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) when elections are held on July 28 as ordered by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Tolentino heads cycling and is the POC chairman but who has opted to honor his word of stepping down to pave the way for the resolution of the lingering leadership dispute in the POC brought about by the sudden resignation of Ricky Vargas last June 17.
In this regard, Tolentino likewise questioned the legitimacy of archery chief Clint Aranas’ reported bid to challenge him in the elections, stressing that the recently-resigned GSIS head can be disqualified owing to a technicality.
Aranas is months short of the required four-year term as president of an Olympic sport based on documents presented by Tolentino, who likewise told scribes that he continues to perform the duties of chairman until a new president is elected.
The IOC on Tuesday sent a letter to the POC, telling the Executive Board to follow a timeline that the Swiss-based body has created in an effort to find ways to remedy the feud.
The IOC ordered that a special meeting of the board be held on July 8 for the formation of an election panel that will supervise an election of officers followed by an extraordinary General Assembly on July 18 that will sanction the creation of the election team.
The third key date the IOC pinpointed was the staging of another extraordinary GA on July 28 that will also serve as the election of the vacant positions.
So far, only Vargas, Tolentino and board members Aranas and gymnastics’ Cynthia Carrion have formally submitted their resignations, something that has earned the ire of Tolentino.
