ALLAN THE MAN

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday spoke out against the leadership of Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, whom he described as “the greatest stumbling block to sports development.”

The senator called on members of national sports associations to elect a different set of leaders during the POC elections set on November. Cojuangco is eyeing a third four-year term.

“For decades, sports development in the country failed to move forward and has consistently been derailed from its tracks due to lack of clear vision and necessary will for reforms,” Trillanes said.

Under Cojuangco’s leadership, the Philippines’ medal total has fallen in each of the last three Southeast Asian Games. From 41 in 2007, it dropped to 38 in 2009, before falling to 36 in 2011.

For the fourth consecutive Olympics, the country also failed to bag a medal in the Games.

Trillanes said athletes were not to blame for the lack of success.

“We recognize the talent of our Filipino athletes and their display of perseverance, dedication, moral courage, strength of character and competitive spirit in various athletic competitions,” said Trillanes, who chairs the Senate Committee on Amateur Sports.

“It is very evident, however, based on our recent performances in global and regional competitions, that these traits and attitude are not enough for our country to win medals. We need a new champion for our sports programs who is gifted with vision and skills to instill grass root development and promote sports excellence.”

Trillanes is pushing to make sports a national priority, filing a bill for the creation of a Department of Sports. 

He also supports a measure for the creation of a Philippine High School for Sports to train top young talent in the country. He also bats for an extensive grassroots program in public schools across the country.

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ALLAN SPEAKS:

I think Senator Trillanes has a point. Mr. Peping Cojuangco has been the President of POC since January 2005 - that is seven (7) long years yet he has done no major developments on Philippine Sports. I think its now time for the POC to have a new, young official who 'really live and breathe' for sports.

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