POC vows bigger things to come

MANILA, Philippines — Newly-reelected POC president Mayor Bambol Tolentino is renewing efforts to bring more glory to the country after milestone feats at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics and SEA and Asian Games under his watch. “We would like to sustain kung ano yung ginawa natin noong Tokyo at Paris,” he said. “And all the lessons learned, we will definitely improve. With all these combined templates, we will double or triple (our efforts) for the benefit of the athletes. Para sa kanila ito then moving forward, para sa bayan.”

Tolentino was reelected on a 45-15 vote over Chito Loyzaga in the POC polls last Friday. A TRO was filed to stop the elections but was denied. “The reelection shows the trust and confidence of the General Assembly that represents the sporting community, based on our performance and what we delivered, not for me nor POC but for the athletes and country,” said Tolentino.

Bob Bachmann withdrew his candidacy for second vice president “in the spirit of delicadeza” as he filed the TRO. Rep. Richard Gomez outpolled Carl Sambrano for the position. Al Panlilio was unopposed as first vice president as was Dr. Jose Raul Canlas as treasurer.

Loyzaga conceded defeat and said he ran to preserve the democratic process. “I got trumped and felt like Kamala,” he said. “Honestly, I never expected to win. It was never my aspiration to become POC president. In fact, I spoke with Al (Panlilio) and asked if he could run for president and I would run as his first vice president. But in the end, I felt I had to step up so the General Assembly could have a choice and issues could be aired. I represent baseball where we’ve made major gains over the last years and I’ll continue to do my best to serve the sport.”