Peping accepts defeat, vows to continue his programs as part of executive board

Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. may have accepted his defeat in the Philippine Olympic Committee polls but that doesn’t mean he’ll stop being involved in sports development.

Told that he will still have a seat in the POC executive board as its immediate past president, Cojuangco said “that’s good to hear,” and vowed to push for “sportstomics” or sports science as well as the creation of the national training center.

“The majority has spoken,” said Cojuangco Saturday afternoon at his upscale residence in Dasmariñas Village a day after losing the POC top post to Ricky Vargas. “Wala naman sakit ng loob, meron sama ng loob kasi natalo (No hurt feelings but there is a bad feeling because I lost).

Asked if he’s looking at a smooth transition of power, the 83-year-old who held the reins in the Olympic body for almost 14 years smiled and said: “It’s now up to them. I don’t see any reason why not.”

But for sure, he will continue to fight for sports. He is currently training his guns on the decision of the SEA Games officials to strip the Philippines of the equestrian gold from last year’s Kuala Lumpur meet.

“That’s not final yet [as far as we are concerned], I don’t know how they arrived at that [findings],” said Cojuangco who claimed they weren’t given access to the stables after Colin Syquia won the show jumping gold back in the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur.

“There’s no reason for Mr. Syquia to do that because we were performing well,” added Cojuangco.

Syquia, a New York-based horse dealer, stunned the SEA Games competitions in Malaysia when he came out of nowhere to best two Malaysian bets for the top plum.

Last October, the international equestrian federation put him and his mount, Adventure E, on temporary suspension. Syquia’s suspension was later lifted but that of his horse stayed.

Reports from Malaysia said the country was stripped of the win, meaning a reduced gold medal count for the Philippines, which finished sixth with 24 mints.

Cojuangco headed the POC since 2004. The following year, with the country still benefiting from the previous term, the Philippines finally nailed the overall title in the Southeast Asian Games.

Two years ago, the Philippines won a silver medal in the Olympics—through weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who as athlete representative ironically voted against him—for the first time in 20 years.

“That (Diaz silver) was something I can’t take acknowledgment for,” added the Cojuangco. “But that’s something I felt good about.”