An Impassioned Plea to Our Philippine Sports Leaders

Our dear NSA Leaders,

We in the Reform Philippine Sports movement appeal to you to stand and remove the chain of decadence and disrepute the Philippine Sports is locked in today. You have all been witness to the loss of respect, the lack of unity, the scheming, the blatant lying at the very top leadership of the Philippine Olympic Committee. You have seen how some old foggies still cling to their cherished positions despite a clear clamor to give the POC a fresh mandate in the interest of unity and national pride. You have felt the frustration as these ‘honorable’ men backed out from their word of honor to resign, citing a flimsy technicality and overriding the need for a clear mandate and a fresh new start. It is time to move forward and work on the SEA Games with haste – but not with a tainted leadership. It is time to show our people – and the rest of the world – that the POC is not a bunch of ‘kapit tuko’ pals. It is time to show the people that you are ready to unite for the country.

You have seen how the old POC operated. We hear you openly talk about how a lot of you have cowered in fear, knowing that the old POC had the ability to remove your funding from PSC, and even snuff out your very existence if you were not aligned with them. Many of you remain silent still, keeping your cards close to your chests, having been brought up in an environment where you have to learn to scratch his back before he can scratch yours. Do you wish this same old rotten environment to control our sporting community? Do you wish for Philippine Sports to be forever stuck with that type of hostage tactic?

Some of you have no doubt enjoyed the benefits of being in the ‘favored’ list. Some have had to find other means. Many of you feel you have some ‘utang na loob’ to these coup pals, when in truth, you do not. It is their responsibility to push for support for you; it is not their money, their resources, but the government’s or the sponsor’s. Many of our athletes have left, disgusted over the fact that there was a favored and a disfavored list. It’s time we erased these old, rotten habits of the ‘old boys club’. We ask you to stand up now and once and for all, work for a better Philippine Sports environment. Enough is enough.

Let us stop the old malpractices such as the lavish foreign trips of officials – even on events not related to their own sports. Let us stop 34-day trips to an Olympics which is only 16 days from opening to closing (with $300/day per diem). Let us stop people taking undue advantage, making a business out of their own NSAs. This time, let us ensure that our athletes’ welfare will always be the priority. Enough is enough.

The POC does not stand for Perpetuating One’s Corruption. We need new leadership, with new vigor, new ideas, new ideals. You can make that happen. Make your country proud. Make your vote count this July 5.

Yours in the dream for a better Philippine sporting world,

Reform Philippine Sports

For more on the struggles of Philippine Sports, please read:

POC Coup Pals, Your Time is Up!!!

Why We Need to Reform Philippine Sports

Justice and Freedom for Philippine Sports

The Coup Pals of the POC

Why the POC Coup Pals Need To Go

The Birth of a Movement to Reform Philippine Sports

A Message of Support for the New POC

The Rape of Philippine Volleyball

The Travails of Philippine Dragon Boating

How Peping Annexed Philippine Table Tennis

Philippine Bowling Cries for Justice