The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Jesse C. Ong
Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) president Ricky Vargas refused to throw in the “white towel of surrender” in his bid to wrest the presidency of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) from three-term prexy Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, Jr.
The boxing chief on Friday sought a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the conduct of the POC elections on November 25 pending a just resolution to the controversy over his disqualification from the POC presidential race.
Vargas formally filed a complaint before the Pasig Regional Trial Court to dispute his exclusion as candidate against Cojuangco.
In his appeal, Vargas also asked the court to declare him an eligible candidate for the POC elections, claiming that he was deprived of due process when he was declared ineligible by the national Olympic body’s election committee.
The said national sports association (NSA) official was disqualified to run against Cojuangco for his failure to meet the requirements of an active POC member, which the election committee defined as the constant presence of the person in general assembly meetings.
According to his spokesperson, Atty. Chito Salud, Vargas was unjustly denied of a chance to run against Cojuangco as the election committee issued the decision without any formal objection from a POC member and without due notice.
“Add to this the simplistic and myopic interpretation applied by the election committee to an indistinct eligibility requirement,” Salud said, adding that they are advancing strong grounds for a favorable ruling by the court.
Vargas contended that his disqualification without a formal protest from any NSA member of the POC was a clear violation of the national Olympic body’s own guidelines.
He furthered that the election committee imposed an eligibility requirement that is not part of the POC by-laws and that the interpretation of the term “active member” is vague.