Softball head blasts GTK on POC row

Softball president Filomeno "Boy" Codiñera’s absence in the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) general assembly last Wednesday in Makati City does not mean that his association is fully supporting the group seeking the ouster of POC president Celso Dayrit.

Instead of showing up, raising the issue and trying to look for possible solutions, the disenchanted group led by athletics chief Go Teng Kok opted to boycott the general assembly that was supposed to tackle, above anything else, the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea in September.

"If they really are interested in the country’s Asian Games participation this year, they should set aside these bickerings. These sports leaders should be concentrating on the Asian Games at this time and not on the removal of the POC president," a POC source told The STAR the other day.

Codinera, for his part, said at the moment, he doesn’t see any valid reason why Dayrit, who defeated Go in last year’s POC elections, 22-11, should be removed from office. He cited several reasons why softball has taken a neutral stance on the issue.

"If the leaders of this group can give me one good reason why Mr. Dayrit must be removed, then I will not hesitate. Pero kung ’yung personal na galit lang ni Mr. Go kay Mr. Dayrit ang dahilan, then we’re not in. Besides, I cannot simply act on my own because I have my board to be answerable to," he said.

"We’re busy trying to make it to the Asian Games. And who will replace Mr. Dayrit? The way I see it, kahit sino, payag sila -- matanggal lang muna si Mr. Dayrit. And in the first place, where will they get the 27 votes (out of the 35 members) to oust the president?" added Codiñera, who was in Tuguegarao last Wednesday.

Sixteen National Sports Associations (NSAs) were not represented in the first POC general assembly of the year but not all of them were actually part of the boycott. According to Dayrit, a couple of NSAs had informed him earlier that they could not make it to the meeting.

While the general assembly, being held once every two months, was going on, Go’s group was holed out at the Sheraton Hotel in Manila. With Go were Sultan Kiram of pencak silat, Ed Ponce of karate, Mario Tanchangko of sepak takraw, Tiny Literal of basketball, Manuel Ribo of wrestling and Rey Jaylo of judo.

"It was a silent protest and it indicates that Dayrit does not have a hold of the POC (anymore)," said Go of the boycott, probably aimed at helping them determine if their group already has the numbers that could lead to a vote of no confidence against Dayrit in the next general assembly.