Tuason: ‘I leave my fate to the President’

Philippine Sports Commission chair Carlos Tuason asked some personalities pushing for his ouster to spare RP sports of politics as he reiterated yesterday that he is leaving it up to President Arroyo to decide on whether he should stay or not.

"I’ve been smelling this and I do hope those who want us out of the PSC leave RP sports alone," said Tuason.

"Kung gusto nilang maupo dito sa PSC, bahala sila. Basta kami, hindi kami dito kapit-tuko at wala sa amin ang nagmamakaawa na manatili dito dahil kami trabaho lang talaga," he added.

Tuason admitted he was surprised by the presence of former Philippine Olympic Committee president Cristy Ramos in yesterday’s rally by some 100 athletes and coaches at Malacañang.

"Iyong iba siguro pwedeng sumama sa rally dahil leaders naman sila ng mga asosasyon nila pero itong isang kaibigan natin na nagkaproblema dalawang taon na ang nakaraan, hindi ko alam kung bakit siya nandiyan," Tuason said.

Ramos, who was ousted as POC head in favor of Celso Dayrit two years ago, joined the march together with athletics chief Go Teng Kok, one of the leaders behind her ouster.

Tuason also denied the claim of Jaime Sebastian, the acknowledged leader of the Athletes Union after swimming coach Eric Buhain and former track star Lydia de Vega-Mercado opted to stay out of the rally, that he has promised to resign.

"Unfortunately for them, I did not promise to resign. All I said is that my fate is at the hands of the President," said Tuason.

With regards to the athletes’ grievances, Tuason said the PSC has taken some ways to address their problems.

"We’ve taken significant steps to address some of their problems but when it comes to training equipment, they should first put it on paper so that we can act on it," said Tuason.

Tuason also welcomed the support of POC chairman Robert Aventajado’s call for unity. " I am ready to sit down with all NSA presidents and athletes so we can bring an end to the animosity and divisions within our ranks."

Meanwhile, aerobics exponent Cynthia Norton has reportedly been appointed by President Arroyo as PSC commissioner and will report for work today.