PSC, POC focus on int’l meets

Better performances in international sporting events may just follow as a united front starts to take shape with the Philippines’ top two sports agencies no longer at odds.

At least that’s what the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) are hoping for as their top officials vow to collaborate all the way to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“We’re looking forward to a new direction of Philippine sports,” said PSC Chair Butch Ramirez after his first meeting with newly elected POC president Ricky Vargas on Monday at Rizal Memorial Complex.

“We discussed a lot of things, from grassroots sports, to the elite athletes, to policies, but it’s more of the definition of partnership.”

The PSC had squabbles with the POC under Vargas’ predecessor, Peping Cojuangco, but both agencies now expect a better working relation to help the country’s bid starting with the 2018 Asian Games this August in Jakarta.

“We’ve defined what role we can take in the POC to be able to work together with the athletes,” said Vargas. “But more importantly, also the long-term relationships that we will have that we can pass on we’re gone.”

POC treasurer Julian Camacho of wushu, a Cojuangco ally tasked to head the Asian Games campaign, also filed his resignation on Monday as the country’s chef de mission.