MANILA, Philippines?A group of parents of swimmers are up in arms against Philippine Amateur Swimming Association (PASA) president Mark Joseph.

They recently sought the help of the Philippine Olympic Committee to fill up the PASA regional offices while pushing for the ouster of Joseph on account of failing to hold an election three years after assuming power.

In a manifesto signed by parents, coaches and swimmers, spokesperson Jane Ong, whose daughter bagged a gold medal during the 2008 Palarong Pambansa, itemized their complaints, including the non-holding of an election for regional directors which would pave the way for new leadership in the PASA.

Ong claimed that the PASA board?composed of regional directors?has not been convened since 2006, a violation of the agreement she said Joseph forged with his predecessor, Monchito Ilagan, when he took over in 2005.

The POC made a stand on the issue Tuesday, claiming that PASA should settle the matter internally even as it maintained that the agreements reached during the POC mediation of the Joseph-Ilagan case in February 2005 have been complied with.

?Presently, POC legal is of the opinion that all agreements reached during the mediation meetings have been complied with,? said POC spokesman Joey Romasanta in a text message.

?Moreover, all NSAs are governed by their respective constitution and by-laws to resolve any grievance within the NSA (national sports association).?

Joseph, who is also the POC deputy secretary general, is currently in Athens, Greece, to attend an event organized by the International Olympic Committee.

He, along with fellow Olympians and swimming heroes Ral Rosario, Pinky Brosas and Akiko Thomson, took over from Ilagan in a snap election held in Cebu City on September 2004, before the POC upheld his presidency the following February.

But Ong?s group said Joseph has not called an election ever since, which they claimed created an impasse that ?has left Philippine swimming with no legitimate officers to date.

?There is massive disenfranchisement of coaches and swimmers who are either suspended or who voluntarily chose to stay away from PASA because of the present leadership,? said Ong in a statement.

They also blamed the PASA leadership for the decline in the RP performance in the Southeast Asian age-group competitions after it finished second to last in 2007 from being the overall champion in 2003 and runner-up in 2004.

However, PASA officials maintained that the country amassed nine gold medals in aquatics?eight in swimming to finish just behind overall champion Singapore?during the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand. That feat earned the association the best NSA award by the Philippine Sportswriters Association.

But Ong said Joseph can?t claim credit for the SEA Games success because the country fielded mostly Fil-American swimmers ?who never trained under PASA.?

Homegrown long-distance swimmer Ryan Arabejo was one of them, taking two gold medals, while Miguel Molina, born to Filipino parents but trained in the United States, bagged four golds to become the most outstanding athlete of the Games.

Also included in the list of their complaints was the lack of local competitions that ?adversely affected the level of competitiveness of young swimmers.?

They also claimed that PASA members are ?threatened with suspension if they joined non-PASA sanctioned meets.?

Stated in the agreement signed by Joseph and Ilagan in 2005 was the holding of elections for regional directors two months after Ilagan dropped the cases he filed against the PASA leadership.