POC rejects Chan poll

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) first vice president Joey Romasanta yesterday thumbed down a plan to hold elections called by embattled Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) president Karl Chan on Jan. 9 because of legal irregularities.

Romasanta earlier said the PVF would be stripped of recognition by the POC as a National Sports Association (NSA) because of a leadership crisis. He called the PVF “dysfunctional” and said even the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) has taken notice. “The AVC told us that if we wanted to disenfranchise the PVF, it will support our decision,” said Romasanta. “Initially, we thought of forming a five-man committee to organize a new NSA for volleyball but we’re putting that on hold for the moment.”

Romasanta said he recently met with a group within the PVF that recognizes Edgardo (Boy) Cantada as chairman. “We’re not decided if we’ll strip the PVF of recognition or just straighten it out,” he said. “Our immediate priority is to form our national women’s team for volleyball because we haven’t participated in the last four SEA (Southeast Asian) Games. We are hosting an Asian U23 women’s tournament on May 1-9 so we’ll form our team for this tournament then add veterans to plug whatever holes there are to compete in the SEA Games in June. Our ultimate goal is to be competitive in the 2017 SEA Games.”

Romasanta said the POC has tapped Roger Gorayeb and Sammy Acaylar to hold tryouts. Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richie Garcia has suggested hiring an American coach. Ateneo’s Thai mentor Anusom Bundit may also be recruited to join the coaching staff. There are no plans to form the men’s squad.

“We are rebuilding volleyball so our efforts are developmental at this stage,” he said. “Let me clarify that the POC is not abolishing the PVF. What we can do is to withhold recognition of the PVF as an NSA.” Even the men’s program has been moribund with no participation in six of the last eight Asian tournaments.

Romasanta said Chan sent a letter to the POC last Dec. 15 announcing an election of officers on Jan. 9. Chan submitted a list of members and a new Constitution and By-Laws to the POC. The list of members or voters, Constitution and By-Laws appeared questionable.

“We find it irregular that the PVF has two sets of Constitution and By-Laws,” said Romasanta. “Which is which? There are no resolutions authorizing amendments in a new Constitution and By-Laws. What happened to the previous PVF and how can there be two PVFs with different Constitutions and By-Laws? The POC obviously cannot give due course to Karl’s request for sanction.”

Karl, next in the line of succession, took over as PVF president when Gener Dungo went on indefinite leave last year. The positions of vice president and treasurer, however, were not filled. Rustico Camangian was named secretary-general but a faction within the PVF claimed he was never appointed by the Board. Since Karl has not called for a meeting in over a year, the majority of the Board took the initiative and named Cantada as chairman last November. Cantada said the interim Board will hold elections in February to formalize a new set of officers. Chan tried to hold his own version of a poll a month ahead but was rebuffed by the POC.

Romasanta said he was informed that PLDT released a sizable sum to Chan and Camangian for the volleyball program. “With the situation up in the air, I don’t even know where that sponsorship money is,” said Romasanta. “I hope somebody is accountable for that money. The POC has nothing to do with that sponsorship.”

Romasanta said POC president Jose Cojuangco, Jr. has given him the mandate to form the national volleyball team. “Volleyball is a team sport,” he said. “It’s not easy to get individual players together and get them to play as a team. It takes time to jell. The PVF is still alive but I’d like to find out what constitutes its legitimacy. There are pretenders out there. Our job is to determine the legitimate NSA for the sport. If the PVF isn’t the legitimate body to represent volleyball, then we’ll establish one that is.” The PVF earlier named candidates for the national women’s team but when tryouts were called, attendance was poor because of player loyalties to rival factions.

Romasanta said the POC is also taking over the listing of national swimmers for the SEA Games. “The deadline for the submission of entries by name was Dec. 15,” he said. “All we’ve got is the number of entries but no names. We’re requesting to delay our submission. In listing our swimmers, we can start with the Myanmar veterans then the participants in the Asian Youth Games and Youth Olympics. We can’t leave out our Olympic Solidarity scholars, Roxanne Yu, Jasmine Alkhaldi and Jessie Lacuna. Swimming is a mandatory sport and I’m in charge of our Olympic Solidarity scholars. It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t list our Olympic Solidarity swimmers in our team.”