WHICH came first: the chicken or the egg?
This is probably the issue most difficult to settle, the problem most difficult to solve, or the question most difficult to answer.
True, chickens came from eggs but, on the other hand, eggs are laid by chickens.
Two sides can argue on this eternally and still can’t find clear solution.
Politics in the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) is much like this, especially in the matter of membership and leadership disputes.
The POC is composed of federations that represent a particular sport. The POC recognizes only one organization per sport which we refer to as NSA or national sports association.
Qualified to become regular members of the POC are NSAs affiliated to the international federation (IF) governing the sport.
Section 6 of Article IV (membership) of the POC charter states that “Membership of the NSA in the POC shall cease (a) upon disbandment of the NSA and (b) upon expulsion following a hearing given to the representative of the NSA, for the following reasons: Non-payment of annual subscription for three consecutive years, expulsion of the NSA by its IF, and infringement of the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws of the POC or of the Olympic Charter.”
Section 7 further states that “Expulsion of the NSA from the POC must be approved by the General Assembly by a 3/4 vote of the entire voting membership.”
Having presented all these to you, my dear readers, let’s look into the dilemma of Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) president Edgardo “Boy” Cantada.
First, he insists that the PVF was “unceremoniously ousted” from the POC in 2015. Back then, the POC president was Peping Cojuangco.
The PVF was not given its day in court, so to speak, and the supposed “violation” of the PVF to the POC By-Laws was not presented in the General Assembly.
Cantada, likewise, pointed out that Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc (LVPI), the federation that replaced PVF as the POC-accredited NSA, is led by people closely identified with Cojuangco like Joey Romasanta.
Cantada also said that the PVF was never disbanded and, in fact, it continued to develop volleyball in the grassroots level until this day.
The PVF, up to this day, has been listed as the only federation recognized by the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (commonly known as FIVB) and the LVPI is not even a probationary member of the FIVB.
Despite all these facts, the POC is still insisting that the LVPI is the one and only NSA for volleyball in the Philippines.
The big “chicken and egg” question now is which should be considered first: the FIVB telling the world that the PVF is the national federation it recognizes for the Philippines or the POC telling the FIVB that PVF is no longer recognized as the NSA for Philippines.
Well, I believe only one man can answer this whether he likes it or not: POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
If there was indeed injustice in the volleyball community, Mr. Tolentino has the power to make things right.
And if Mr. Tolentino thinks nothing is wrong with the system, he can, by all means, put closure to this issue.
The spotlight is on you, sir.
What you do with this volleyball issue would define your leadership in the POC.
Like I said, this is like chicken and egg. No matter which side you choose, you’ll get fried, one way or another.
But the POC chief needs to choose and he needs to choose wisely, especially that 2020 is an election year for the POC.
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