Tolentino eyes POC presidency; Aranas as rival?

The July 5 snap elections for the vacant positions of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) could end up being a battle between the two sides of a controversy that led to the resignation of two Olympic chiefs in a one-week span.

Cavite Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, the cycling president and resigned POC chair who is aligned with former POC president Ricky Vargas of boxing, said he will run as POC president in the polls tentatively scheduled at Golden Bay restaurant in Pasay City.

“Let’s settle this once and for all by conducting an honest election. Let the [POC] general assembly decide and I hope this elections will end all the bickering and unify the entire organization,” Tolentino said.

He is expected to face archery’s Clint Aranas for the top post. Aranas, sources said, is aligned with Joey Romasanta, who resigned a week after succeeding Vargas and declared that he will not run in the emergency polls.

“We need fresh faces and new ideas in the POC. We cannot go on like this forever,” Romasanta said after he and a majority of the POC executive board resigned en masse on Tuesday. “I am qualified, but I have always declared that I am not running for any position.”

The resignation of the POC officials paved the way for the July 5 polls but there’s a catch: The resignation of these board members will not be official unless they submit a written letter of resignation to the POC.

There is an urgency for the POC to get its act together. With just five months left before the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games, the POC needs a stable leadership to resolve the issue that led to the current leadership vacuum.

Romasanta, Aranas and a majority of the executive board called for a special meeting with Vargas, then the POC president, to address certain questions regarding the SEA Games hosting preparations.

Those questions—which center on Romasanta’s POC wanting to take control of the SEA Games organization from the ad hoc committee created for that purpose—still need to be addressed.

Tolentino plans to complete his ticket soon, with sources saying taekwondo’s Robert Aventajado could be a running mate.