This does not involve a renegade former governor whose escapade from detention at the Bilibid prison has resulted in a national uproar.
But the recent happening in Darwin, Australia, where youthful Filipino swimmers ended up traumatized after being scratched from the Arafura Games swimming finals, in which they had ably qualified, is no less alarming, if not similarly criminal.
This anomaly had surfaced in the local media but soon enough got overshadowed by bigger events.
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In truth, this malpractice must be stopped promptly.
It’s the duty of every well-meaning citizen to call on authorities to get to the core of the anomaly.
Former Sen. Nikki Coseteng, who witnessed it all, being an officer of the swimming team that competed for Quezon City, has vowed to reveal all when she returns from China.
We expect a call from her today.
But while waiting for Coseteng, who reportedly had a fiery debate with national swimming association president Mark Joseph in Darwin, we take this opportunity to call the attention of Sen. Gregorio Honasan, an original People Power hero and vital cog in the Senate committee on sports.
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This is not to ask Sen. Honasan to put Joseph to task.
No, but with the frequency of complaints being lodged against the national swimming association head, both from parents of swimmers and aggrieved officers of various swimming groups in the country, Gringo Honasan might want to check if Joseph is applying a unique leadership method, even though this has caused misery to many people, if not outright shame for the country in foreign competitions.
Actually, we continue to receive e-mails denouncing “Joseph and his swimming Mafia.”
Please share this one which is quite objective:
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To my fellow colleagues of the press:
My name is Mike Angangan. I am the CEO of Polo De’Marco Group of Companies, and the publisher/editor in chief of Polo De’Marco Magazine.
I was recently made aware by swimming coach Susan Papa and the head of the Philippine delegation, former senator Nikki Coseteng, that some members of their contingent were denied entry to compete in the finals of the Arafura Games. I would like to point out that this is supposedly a “Friendly Games.”
The competitors in question are minors, namely, Emmanuel Joshua Lorbes, Pricila Aquino, Kiefer Piccio, Antoinette Aquino, and Loren Dale Echavez. They were invited to compete and, hence, had also gone through the proper protocol to compete at such a competition as the Arafura Games.
Whether the decision had been made on the basis of race, gender, or just simply a technical issue, these minors have been denied access to compete in the games, and are now traumatized from this experience. By doing this, Arafura Games and its organizers are breaching their own “Rules & Regulations for a free and friendly games for all ‘Nations’ to compete on an international level.”
And as such, by denying these young competitors, Arafura Games and its organizers are also in breach of the International Human Rights Issue.
I will be notifying my colleagues in the press, in particular, The Foreign Correspondence Association of Australia—in which I am a member—CNBC, CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, etc. I urge my fellow colleagues to become democratic in their duty to the “right to produce necessary information and express free speech.”
As I see it from a publisher’s point of view, there is a sense of corruption (sic) from the organizers of the Arafura Games; hence, should you request further information on this story, please e-mail; coach Susan Papa on: sansueboy@hotmail.com or by phone; Mb: 0405815151.
Sincerely,
Mike Angangan