INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Olympic Committee officials dislodged as heads of their respective national sports association can now heave a sigh of relief.

The International Olympic Committee last week assured POC president Jose ?Peping? Cojuangco that the ousted NSA leaders can stay on as POC officers until 2012, despite calls for them to relinquish their positions.

Cojuangco received the assurance from IOC director of legal affairs Jerome Poivey during their meeting at the IOC headquarters in Laussane, Switzerland, last week.

The International Equestrian Federation earlier upheld the election of Buhay party-list Rep. Carissa Coscolluela, replacing Cojuangco.

The other top POC officers who have been replaced as leaders of their respective NOCs are first vice president Manny Lopez of boxing, secretary general Steve Hontiveros of bowling and treasurer Julian Camacho of wushu.

?(Poivey) told us that, based on the guidelines of the IOC, officials could serve their term of office even if they don?t function as leaders of their NSAs anymore,? said Cojuangco.

?There?s no other body which can interpret the rules better than the IOC itself,? added Cojuangco, who also had an audience with IOC head Jacques Rogge and IOC National Olympic Committee relations director Pere Miro.

PLDT executive Ricky Vargas replaced Lopez as president of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines while Mariano Tamayo was elected last year as bowling chief. Tan Shi Ling took over from Camacho.

Joining Cojuangco in his brief meeting with Rogge and Miro were Hontiveros, IOC representative to the Philippines Frank Elizalde, POC legal counsel Mon Malinao, and his daughter Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski.

Cojuangco also said it would take three-fourths, or 32 out of the 42 voting members, of the general assembly to remove a POC officer.