Did Nikki beat Gringo to the draw?

When a warning was sounded out last month about a raging feud on the local sports front, this was routinely brushed off as nothing more than Nikki’s wrath.
Nikki, of course, is former Sen. Dominique Coseteng, a no-nonsense sportswoman.
Nikki, for the record, never hid her disapproval of former national swimmer Mark Joseph and the way he has been conducting affairs at the Philippine Aquatic Sports Association (Pasa) which he heads.
In fact, after we suggested to Coseteng that she go to the Senate Committee on Sports, the case was instantly stalled.
Maybe Nikki’s protestations were brushed off as mere offshoot of a long-standing personal feud?
* * *
Sorry, but Sen. Gringo Honasan, main cog in the Senate sports committee, was reportedly not too interested in Nikki’s ranting.
“Hindi naman namamansin si Gringo (Gringo couldn’t care less),” remarked columnist Beth Celis, who has been helping Coseteng bring into the open alleged injustices committed by Joseph.
For one, Coseteng’s charges initially concerned the rude disqualification of her swimmers from the last Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia.
Joseph ably parried the protest by explaining Coseteng’s tankers, scratched from the finals to which they had qualified, did not carry official credentials after refusing to enlist under the Pasa, in violation of a requirement from the international swimming body.
* * *
Just like that.
Then Nikki dropped the bomb.
She filed graft and corruption and money laundering charges before the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday.
Named respondents were former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chair Efraim Genuino, former Philippine Sports Commission chair Butch Ramirez and Pasa president Joseph.
The case involved P38.8 million in financial assistance directly “released by Pagcor to Pasa to fund a four-year program leading to the 2012 London Olympics.”
* * *
After the explosion, Coseteng forwarded this statement to this reporter:
“POC, PSC, Pagcor officials have kept quiet about this P38-million scam of ex-Pagcor chair Ephraim Genuino using Mark Joseph, Pasa president, as conduit to siphon money out of Pagcor to plow back into his own Trace College.”
Trace College Inc., which started as a computer school, was founded by Genuino and his wife Aurora in 1986.
“With private sector initiative, I hereby call on President Noynoy Aquino to punish all those involved, including those who conspired,” Coseteng said.
* * *
Anyway, not to be outdone, former national swimmer Susan Papa, whose tankers were disqualified from the Arafura Games finals, fired off this statement:
“With the filing of graft charges against Mark Joseph, the money case against Julian Camacho in wushu, the unliquidated money in Bacolod involving Monico Puentevella, the unlawful takeover by Joey Romasanta of karatedo, POC president Peping Cojuangco must rethink his position.”
She added: “The POC now stinks with corruption and unwanted dictatorship, like the tyrants being vomited out of office in the Middle East.”
* * *
Meanwhile, former PSC chair Ramirez explained that his role in the contested transfer of funds was purely ministerial.
Joseph, on the other hand, said that “regardless of how the money from the Pagcor was released or disbursed, it was spent for its purpose and did not end up in anybody’s pocket.”
There was neither a denial nor a disclaimer from Genuino at presstime.
Of course, Nikki herself cannot claim she’s a fast draw, despite that bomb blast on Tuesday.
But if the case prospers, it would be hard to deny Nikki has beaten Gringo to the coup.