Cojuangco amenable to election

MANILA, Philippines - Jose “Peping” Cojuangco yesterday said he is sitting down with his group within the Equestrian Association of the Philippines this week to tackle the different terms and conditions to be presented to and hopefully agreed upon by the other contending party regarding the EAP elections.

Cojuangco said while the EAP charter does not call for an election until 2012, it is also his group’s desire to comply with the Federatione Equestre Internationale suggestion that they hold another election as soon as possible to once and for all determine who the rightful EAP president is.

The Philippine Olympic Committee president, locked in a bitter leadership dispute with Party List Congresswoman Carissa Coscolluela at the EAP, also welcomed the latest FEI stand that the world’s governing body in the sport should not be the one to run the forthcoming EAP polls.

Cojuangco said last week that since the EAP has agreed to send a representative to the country for the elections, then the international federation might as well be the one to decide who gets to vote since the issue on the list of voters is so sensitive neither party is willing to budge.

“I only took that stand because it was the group of Carissa Coscolluela which kept on saying that it’s the FEI who should be followed. I was just trying to accommodate everybody. Now I have to consult with my group and by next week we’ll be ready to inform the FEI of the latest,” said Cojuangco.

“We will write them (FEI) so they will know all the rules within the EAP. And since it’s their desire for us to hold an election, even if our lawyers insist that the next elections should come in 2012, then we will comply. But I need to consult with our group because I cannot assume that I can dictate on this matter,” he added.

Chrisopher Hodson, FEI vice president, wrote Cojuangco earlier this week, saying that the FEI cannot dip its hands on the EAP elections because it’s an internal (national sports association) affair, but urged both parties to come to an agreement regarding the list of EAP members who can and cannot vote.

Hodson also said it would be useless for the FEI to send a representative to the EAP elections if the results will not be honored and respected by both parties afterwards. The FEI said the list of voters should be ironed out first before the date and time of the elections are set.

Cojuangco said he has the right to call the election because he is the EAP president being recognized by the POC, and not Coscolluela who was named president in election staged by her group last May. Briefly, the FEI recognized her as the new EAP head.

But the international federation, upon serious questioning and clarification by Cojuangco, recently announced that it is neither recognizing Cojuangco nor Coscolluela as the rightful head of the EAP, and called for another election to finally clear the issue.    – Abac Cordero