INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - If only for the welfare of the national athletes, Olympic chief Jose ?Peping? Cojuangco Jr. is ready to shake hands with Philippine Sports Commission chair Harry Angping and forget the past.

The Philippine Olympic Committee president has openly expressed desire to mend fences with Angping, citing the need to patch up things and share a common goal of uplifting the spirits of the athletes in international competitions.

?These are difficult times for us as well as for the athletes,'' said Cojuangco a day after Angping offered a hand of reconciliation for the two sports bodies to again work harmoniously together.

?They're (athletes) getting the pinch and have started complaining a lot,'' added Cojuangco.

As the lead organization for the formation of the national team, the POC usually counts for funding on the PSC, the government arm for sports.

But the falling out between Angping and Cojuangco since Angping took over the helm of the PSC in January has forced POC officials to dig deep into their pockets and look for prospective sponsors to financially back them up.

It became apparent after the PSC vowed to subsidize the participation of no more than 153 athletes in the coming Southeast Asian Games in Laos while the POC insisted on jacking up the list to as many as 250 athletes.

?If he (Angping) really wants to fix this, he doesn't have to announce it in front of the media,'' said Cojuangco. ?I'm just a phone call away.''

Previous reconciliatory talks hit a snag after both parties refused to give an inch during the negotiations mediated by Health secretary Francisco Duque several months ago.

?Let's be honest with each other. Philippine sports will not succeed if the PSC and the POC don't work together,'' said Angping.

With the POC and the PSC willing to settle their differences for the sake of the athletes, it seems a lasting solution can be worked out if one of them?Angping or Cojuangco?reaches out first.