POC to set attainable, realistic goals

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) will convene its newly-elected officials and buckle down to work in a planning session to be facilitated by Dr. Benjamin (Chippy) Espiritu on Jan. 8-9 at the Cojuangco residence on Palm Ave., Dasmariñas Village with the view of formulating a four-year sports performance program.

POC first vice president Joey Romasanta said Dr. Espiritu, chef de mission of the Philippine delegation at the recent Asian Beach Games and former chairman of the business and governance department of the La Salle Graduate School of Business, will steer the discussions leading to a unified commitment to achieve concrete goals in administrative and quantifiable targets.

 “We will identify priorities and prioritize concerns,” said Romasanta. “We’ll determine what we need to do, the resources to carry out our objectives. If we define all these requirements, it will be easy to work out a budget. Then the commitments will follow. The figures won’t come from out of the blue. We’ll develop a general framework which we hope to be the blueprint for all National Sports Associations (NSAs). This way, it won’t be difficult for the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to determine its funding allocations. We’ll plan everything in a professional way so that cash flows are managed properly without surprises. Once the plan is approved, we will submit it to the President. Our goals will be attainable but the effort won’t be easy. We won’t be conservative in our approach but we’ll be realistic.”

In terms of medal targets, Romasanta said the four-year plan will take into consideration the coming Southeast Asian Games, the Youth Olympics, the 2014 Asian Games, the 2015 Southeast Asian Games and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The POC’s calendar of events will also be taken up. A highlight is the celebration of the Asian Games Centennial in November. The POC was awarded the rights to host the 100th year festivities by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and will welcome delegates and athletes from the continent in Boracay.

Former Rep. Robert (Dodot) Jaworski Jr. is the chairman of the POC organizing committee for the Centennial celebration. The activities will include an OCA General Assembly meeting and competitions in selected sports from the events sanctioned by OCA – the Asian Games, Asian Indoor Games, Asian Martial Arts Games, Asian Winter Games, Asian Beach Games, Asian Youth Games, Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games.  Basketball, ice skating, aquatics, athletics and taekwondo are among the sports being proposed for inclusion in the Centennial competition schedule.

 “We won’t make the planning session a complicated process,” said Romasanta. “We’ll be basic and elementary in our approach. Dr. Chippy has facilitated planning sessions for us before. We’ll focus on concerns and commitments. We’ll also make sure there are monitoring guidelines. It’s all about managing the plan. After detailing the program and making commitments, we’ll talk about when to periodically revisit where we are. We’ll agree on a timeline for monitoring purposes. We’ll continually look at where we are in terms of the timeline and report to the POC Board. We also want to keep the public on board as far as where we’re going.”

Romasanta said the newly-elected POC officers will ensure a mix of independent-minded visionaries. “While everyone who was elected came from one ticket, it doesn’t mean there will be no debate or discussion on issues,” he said. “Our chairman Tom Carrasco of triathlon has a mind of his own and is a successful professional and business executive in his own right. He is expected to assert himself as chairman. Former congressman Butch Pichay of chess, Judes Echauz of sailing and Cynthia Carrion of gymnastics are also known to be very vocal and outspoken. Our president (Jose Cojuangco Jr.) is excited to get the ball rolling. There is a lot to be done in the next four years and we are determined to show performance in Philippine sports.”

Last week, Vice President Jojo Binay inducted the newly-elected POC officers in a ceremony at the Coconut Palace. Holdover POC secretary-general Steve Hontiveros attended the affair but not in an official capacity. Hontiveros is expected to be reappointed as secretary-general in the first POC General Assembly this month.