POC polls up; Vargas faces ax

There will be an election all right, but it looks like it’s heading down the same road where boxing chief Ricky Vargas will be disqualified from challenging long-time incumbent Peping Cojuangco for the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) presidency.

“They might disqualify us—strongly,” said Vargas following the POC extraordinary general assembly on Monday at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club. “They will come up with mechanics, so we will see.”

The POC general assembly agreed to call for an election on Feb. 23, but the circumstances might just be the same with an election committee still headed by former International Olympic Committee (IOC) representative Frank Elizalde.

“Why are they afraid to have an election with us as the candidate?” Vargas added.

In 2016, Cojuangco earned a fourth straight term as president but only after the POC election committee disqualified Vargas for failing to meet the qualification for “active membership,” which was interpreted as physical presence in general assemblies.