Athletes to form bigger union

Saying the group that staged a rally in Malacañang Monday against the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Commitee did not represent the "general will" of national athletes, members of the country’s elite — veteran Olympians and gold medalists in the Asian and Southeast Asian Games — are forming a new association that promises to be bigger in terms of membership.

The group, which filed its articles of incorporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday, said its union would better represent the national athletes since it will include all 850 members of the national pool, many of whom were gold medalists in Asian and international competitions.

It said this is in stark contrast to the small group of rallyists, led by former weightlifting standout Jaime Sebastian and athletics’ Go Teng Kok, who had reporterdly their own personal agenda in staging the protest march from the Philippine Sports Commission at the Rizal Memorial Sports Commission to Malacañang.

Sebastian, it was gathered, sought the ouster of the PSC leadership and wanted himself as one of the commissioners. Go had reportedly wanted to get back at the PSC and POC officials who had sided with Freddie Jalasco in the ongoing leadership controversy of the Basketball Association of the Philippines.

The new group noted that the Sebastian-led Athletes’ Union had picked up basketball players from schools to join the rallyists. Many of the rallyists were NSA officials who had also applied for the position of commissioner.

Former track queen Lydia de Vega-Mercado and former multiple-gold medalist and SEA Games most outstanding athlete Eric Buhain refused to join the rally, saying it was "politically motivated."

PSC commissioner Amparo "Weena" Lim also admitted that she received reports about elite athletes forming a new athletes group.

Lim did not disclose the details of the plan although she said the new group could best represent the athletes, currently numbering to 850, against the Sebastian group.

At the same time, POC president Celso Dayrit also said he is reactivating the POC Athletes Commission to give legitimate national team members the proper channel to voice out their grievances.

This plan will be included in the POC executive council’s discussion today. He said this move will give the athletes’ group a "legitimate representation" in the POC.

"We’re meeting tomorrow (today) and we’ll surely discuss this matter because the POC wants to strengthen the relationship of the athletes, the NSAs, the POC and as well as the PSC," said Dayrit.

Dayrit said the POC will ask each NSA to let its athletes select a representative. The NSA representatives will then select five members who will form the Athletes’ Commission.

Two of the five will have a seat in the POC executive council with a right to voice out their concerns regarding the current state of RP sports.

During the term of then PSC chairman Philip Ella Juico, many-time Davis Cupper and currently national lawn tennis team coach Joseph Lizardo headed the Athletes’ Commission although he was only appointed for the position.