LONDON—Brace yourselves for another round of finger-pointing.
The buzz around the Philippine quarters in the Athletes Village is that officials here and in Manila are already drafting standard excuses for the country’s latest sporting debacle at the London Olympics.
The Inquirer can only make a few guesses of the alibis, each one irritatingly predictable and worn out:
“Let’s go back to the drawing board.”
“There’s something wrong with the program, it’s time for a complete review.”
“The government budget for sports is not enough.”
“There’s lack of support from Malacañang.”
“Give the Philippine Sports Commission its Constitutionally mandated share from Pagcor’s profits and athletes will deliver.”
As in the past, no sports official is expected to own up to the performance disaster once the Philippine contingent returns to Manila. No one, it seems, will ever want to take the fall for the athletes’ failings.
Have you ever heard of a Filipino sports official who stepped down from his post because the athletes failed to produce? Never, no one in recent memory at least.
For sure, there will be a clamor from both houses of Congress for the responsible officials to explain the London fiasco. They will expect heads to roll.
But no. Filipino sports officials are made of sterner stuff and, as sure as the sun rises in the east, will weather the tumult as adroitly as they had done so in the past.
There were a thousand and one things that contributed to the sordid performance of the London contingent, they would say. None could be attributed to bad direction or mismanagement.
In the end, it will be the poor athletes who will take the flak for their bosses. It is the athletes, deprived of full government attention, who competed in the first place, isn’t it?