‘No one wants to challenge Cojuangco’

WITH no challenger on the horizon, the coming Philippine Olympic Committee elections might as well be another coronation for incumbent president Jose Cojuangco Jr.

The POC polls are scheduled Nov. 26 with the deadline for filing of candidacy tentatively set on the last week of October, roughly 30 days before the elections.

Cojuangco, on his third straight term as POC chief, appears headed for another four-year stint as the most powerful sports leader in the country.

“Nobody wants to challenge Mr. Cojuangco,” said a POC insider who requested anonymity, commenting on a group that is finding it hard to field a Cojuangco foe. “Right now, nobody among the current batch of NSA presidents has the same stature as Cojuangco.”

A private entity independent from the government, the POC is one of the 206 nations recognized by the International Olympic Committee, the chief organizer of the quadrennial Olympic Games.

POC chair Tom Carrasco could have been a worthy contender for the top post, but his decision to slide from president to secretary general of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines stopped his possible bid.

Only incumbent NSA presidents of Olympic sports that have been serving at least four years are qualified to run as POC president.