Art not bluffing

Philippine National Shooting Association (PNSA) president Art Macapagal said the other day he wasn’t bluffing in offering to resign his post during a recent meeting with the country’s leading rifle and pistol shooters at Fort Bonifacio.

"I didn’t seek the presidency," said Macapagal who was elected 11-3 in absentia by the Board made up of three representatives from the five PNSA groups–rifle, pistol, moving target (shotgun), practical and non-union–four years ago. "If I’m no longer needed as president, I’ll step down. I meant what I said when I offered to resign if there is a petition. If there is a petition, I’ll study it and check who the signatories are. If they are shooters whom I respect, then I’ll go."

But Macapagal said he won’t be driven away by noisy troublemakers.

"I love this sport," intimated Macapagal, a two-time Olympic shooter. "When I travel as PNSA president, I spend my own money. This is strictly volunteer work. I don’t need this position. But I can’t turn my back on the sport I love. My goal is to develop champions because it is through champions that we are able to promote the sport like Bata Reyes in billiards, Manny Pacquiao in boxing and Paeng Nepomuceno in bowling."

Macapagal said under his watch, a National Open was held last year and a second will be staged in November. There will be a series of qualifying competitions to determine the composition of the national team for the SEA Games here next year.

"I know there is a need to upgrade our shooting facilities," said Macapagal. "It all boils down to funding and when it comes to funding, we just have to be patient. We’ve already fixed up the 10-meter range in Fort Bonifacio. We’ve also identified a spot for a shotgun range in Muntinlupa and Eric (Buhain) already knows about it. In Quezon City, Mayor (Sonny) Belmonte put up a range in the Amoranto complex for local air rifle shooters. We’re talking to the Marines about our 25 and 50-meter ranges in Fort Bonifacio. We’ve submitted a budget of over P10 Million to the PSC to upgrade our facilities in preparation of the SEA Games."

As for reducing the shooters in the national pool to six, Macapagal said his hands were tied in making the decision.

"The order from the PSC (Philippine Sports Commission) was to start from zero," he explained. "We could list down only the last SEA Games medallists. The idea is to support only those who deserve it. So our shooters must show performance before we can recommend them for PSC allowances. The PNSA has a responsibility to the government to make sure public funds are used wisely. We can only assign public money to shooters who earned it."

Macapagal admitted there are some disgruntled shooters in the PNSA and sympathized with them. "Maybe, they feel left out because they were relying on their allowances for a living–parang hanap-buhay na nila," he said. "But it’s all about performance. Now, the standards are very high and we can’t bring them down. We want to limit the participation of shooters who do not consistently perform up to par in international competitions even if they qualify. We are analyzing the performance of our shooters and determining their potentials to excel."

Macapagal disclosed that the Armed Forces of the Philippines has set up a development program for 17 top-notch shooters. "We hope this arrangement is institutionalized," he said. "We worked this out with Angie Reyes, the President and Gen. (Eduardo) Ermita. This is our development program for the future."

As for the coming SEA Games, Macapagal said there will be at least 25 gold medals at stake in shooting and the national team will be represented in each individual event. He estimated a cast of about 20 shooters in the squad.

Macapagal said talent isn’t the only factor to consider in choosing a national athlete. "You can’t win on talent alone," he went on. "You’ve got to consider determination, ability to perform under pressure, science and technology. An example is in that movie ‘The Miracle’ about the US hockey team winning the Olympic gold medal over Russia."

On Turkmenistan coach Marat Niazov, Macapagal justified his retention in the PSC payroll. "He’s a former world champion," said Macapagal. "He’s the kind of coach who can bring our shooters to the next level internationally. He’s been extended until the end of the year and he’ll stay on until the SEA Games after which we’ll evaluate his performance."

Macapagal said his heart bleeds whenever national shooters fail to deliver in overseas competitions. Conversely, he’s ecstatic when they outdo themselves.

"An indication of how serious is our responsibility to ensure that PSC-supported athletes can deliver is the amount of assistance granted," he said. "Many shooters have received over P1 Million in various forms of help."

Macapagal said he has high hopes that the country’s lone Athens Olympic shooter Jethro Dionisio will perform beyond expectations. "We sent Jethro to Australia and we’ve tried to give him everything he needs to prepare for Athens," he said. "He’s competing in the trap event. He’s a world champion speed shooter and in the trap, reflexes are important using the shotgun. Jethro’s used to performing in world competitions so we’re hoping he does well."

Last Sunday, a group of 34 shooters submitted a signed petition calling for Macapagal’s resignation. Among the signatories were Olympic and SEA Games gold medallist Jasmin Luis, SEA Games gold medallist and Asian Games veteran Susan Aguado, PNSA director Johanna Torres and internationalist Therese Cantada.

"We have nothing personal against Mr. Macapagal," said Cantada. "We respect him as a leader but he offered to resign and we think it’s time to bring in young blood to perk up the PNSA."

Surely, a compromise can be worked out.

The PNSA needs Macapagal for his experience, counsel and leadership. If Macapagal resigns because of the petition, perhaps he could be persuaded to assume the chairmanship and allow someone elected by the Board to manage the organization’s affairs on a day-to-day basis as an active hands-on President.