Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr
The camp of Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping’ Cojuangco Jr. is confident he’s got enough number to finish his fourth term. That’s if the POC general assembly allows boxing chief Ricky Vargas to run in Friday’s elections.
Cojuangco’s insiders also dispelled the claims of Vargas’ group that it has the support of 27 national sports associations, saying that at worst, Cojuangco “will do a Macapagal” and win by the slimmest of margins.
Now 83, Cojuangco bested the late shooting chief Art Macapagal, 21-19, in 2008 for his second term as POC boss.
The POC will hold reelections after Vargas’ camp recently won a court ruling overturning the POC decision to disqualify him and cycling’s Bambol Tolentino during the November 2016 polls.
Running for president and chair, Vargas and Tolentino were initially disqualified for not attending enough GAs. The same ruling may be invoked once again even though the head of the POC polls, Frank Elizalde, said he would personally vote for the elections to be held.
But Cojuangco has lost key allies led by longtime associate Joey Romasanta, who can command the votes of at least four NSAs, including karate-do and volleyball, which he runs in concurrent capacity.
Romasanta, who is in Singapore, broke ties with Cojuangco and now leads a bunch of swing votes in the elections slated at 1:30 p.m. at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club Friday.
But sources in POC camp said Romasanta may change his mind at the last minute and that would come in handy for Cojuangco.
Forty-three NSA representatives, athletes Hidilyn Diaz and Henry Dagmil, and International Olympic Committee representative and Cojuangco’s daughter, Mikee Jaworksi, are set to cast votes in a secret balloting.
Expected to vote for Cojuangco are his own NSA equestrian, bowling, aquatics, billiards, handball, wushu, lawn bowls, pencak silat, wrestling, athletics, table tennis, archery, lawn tennis, ice skating, baseball, hockey, chess, canoe-kayak and Jaworski.