INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine Sports Commission chair Harry Angping is offering a hand of reconciliation to the Philippine Olympic Committee.

“Philippine sports will not succeed if the PSC and the POC don’t work together,” said Angping during Tuesday’s PSA Forum held at Shakey’s UN Avenue branch.

The PSC top honcho hopes that a dialogue between him and POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. will do what a reconciliatory attempt failed to do last March.

“I think we could sit down, put all those disagreements in the past and start all over again,” said Angping.

The two camps tried to reconcile their differences early this year under the initiative of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo through Health Secretary Francisco Duque.

Cojuangco has opposed the way Angping has run the PSC. The former Tarlac representative has even vowed to find sponsors for the Olympic body to bankroll its own projects and not rely on the PSC for funding.

Partisan politics have actually tainted the cold relationship. When Cojuangco ran for a second term last year in the POC elections, he defeated shooting chief Art Macapagal, who was openly supported by Angping.

“I still dream of the day that the PSC and the POC can work harmoniously together,” said Angping in the same forum sponsored by Accel, Pagcor, Outlast battery and Shakey’s.

Angping said he’s ready to face Cojuangco at any given place and time so they can come up with a viable solution to end their ongoing squabble.

With the difference in opinion and miscommunication, Angping said the athletes and their performances in the Southeast Asian Games are bound to suffer.

The latest disagreement between the two organizations was the number of athletes to be sent in the SEA Games from Dec. 9 to 18 in Vientiane, Laos.

The PSC and RP chief of mission Mario Tanchangco had agreed on 157 athletes set to compete in 21 events but the POC wanted more and included 60 additional athletes on the list prior to the deadline on Oct. 26.