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Our hopes for Philippine sports in 2013

In the run-up to the elections for the presidency and other positions in the Philippine Olympic Committee last November we persistently questioned the leadership of two-term president and former congressman Jose “Peping” Cojuangco who was bent on seeking a third term despite the country’s dismal showing in the Southeast Asian Games in Laos and Indonesia where we finished in sixth place, which was an embarrassment to say the least.

We felt there were many things Cojuangco failed to do and several things he did which were questionable.

However, the reality is that not only did Cojuangco win the POC presidency unopposed after Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA) head Go Teng Kok withdrew at the last minute for reasons known only to him, but his entire ticket swept the polls.

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With the overwhelming mandate given Cojuangco by the members of the POC general assembly we believe that in a working democracy, no matter what its flaws, the results of an election need to be respected, otherwise there will be anarchy.

Given that premise we have to accept the reality that “Peping” Cojuangco and his team will be at the forefront of Philippine sports over the next four years in tandem with Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia unless Cojuangco’s nephew, President Benigno Aquino III, decides to replace Garcia which, at the present time, seems most unlikely.

Given this situation, we should look at what needs to be done to help the country get out of the rut into which it has fallen.

The close friendship between Cojuangco and Garcia is an obvious plus because both agencies should work together in a government-private sector partnership that will move our sports programs forward.

The priority must surely be our athletes, not fancy offices, junkets abroad and the like. In other words our athletes must be provided with the best training facilities possible to hone their skills, proper diet and nutrition, necessary vitamin supplements, livable quarters and peace of mind that comes from getting a reasonable allowance that enables them not to worry about how to survive.

Qualified foreign coaches need to be hired and while they are active in training our athletes, they should be made to develop programs to train our local coaches so that overall there can be a grassroots development program with local coaches fanning out to different regions in the country.

We remember that during Mike Keon’s tenure as Gintong Alay chief he brought in coaches like Tony Benson who developed such superb athletes as Asia’s Sprint Queen Lydia De Vega, 400 meter champion Isidro del Prado, steeplechaser Hector Begeo and a host of others.

It may well be timely for Cojuangco and whoever heads the PATAFA to entice De Vega and del Prado to come home and train our own athletes rather than train young athletes in countries like Singapore and Brunei merely because our sports leaders failed to tap their undoubted talent.

In fact Lydia told us when she flew home for her father, Tatang De Vega’s funeral, how painful it was to be ignored by her own country after having brought so much honor during her time when she was regarded as the “Darling of Asia.”

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Internally, Cojuangco should set forth a well-thought out development plan and make sure that the various National Sports Association implements the plans for each individual sport while chairman Garcia together with Cojuangco must not play favorites and insist that National Sports Associations properly liquidate the funds they receive and account for every bit of equipment they purchase.

Strict measures should also be implemented to ensure that equipment provided by different countries as grants must be accounted for and not wind up in downtown stores as has happened in the past.

We do not need grandiose plans. What we need are simple, efficient, well thought-out programs of development that are attainable.

The POC and PSC should concentrate their resources on sports where we are capable of competing at least in the stadiums of Asia and let sports such as basketball turn to private sector benefactors such as the esteemed businessman Manny Pangilinan who has done more than his fair share to keep the dream alive, at least in Asia.

The question is often asked: How come a country that has produced so many outstanding world professional boxing champions finds it almost impossible to develop a single Olympic boxing gold medalist and even Asian Games gold medalists on a consistent basis?

Of course they are, in many respects, two different dimensions of the same sport, which requires a sound analysis of what makes a potential Olympic gold medalist and to focus on it in a medium- and long-term basis.

Olympic champions, with rare exceptions, are not born overnight. It takes years of hard work, discipline, dedication, courage and of course innate skill to move forward in the quest for Olympic gold and glory not just in boxing but in any sport.

No question in our minds that we have the talent. What we need to do is to harness that talent properly.

But to do that our sports leaders need to build our athletes confidence in them and demonstrate the fundamental integrity, care and sincere concern so essential for success.

This then must be the straight and narrow path our sports leaders must tread. Not for a short while but for as long as they are in office and as they move forward along such a path they must set aside resorting to the debilitating vindictiveness and petty bickering that only serve to undermine sports and youth development.

Indeed if our leaders realize that strong, healthy and disciplined young men and women imbued with the values and virtues of sports are the foundation of a strong nation, the Filipinos’ God-given talents should see us through in 2013 and beyond.

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.

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