POC chief Cojuangco says Trillanes ‘doesn’t know sports’

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Jose Cojuangco Jr. said yesterday that Senator Antonio ‘Sonny’ Trillanes IV is ignorant to the reality of Philippine sports and doesn’t care about the true welfare of the Filipino athletes.

After hearing the accusations thrown by the Senator during last week’s senate hearing, Cojuangco Jr., also the Equestrian Association of the Philippines president, believes that Trillanes is only using the issue for political reason and personal gain. (READ: Senators lash out at POC over poor state of PH sports)

Cojuangco Jr. added that Trillanes has a personal vendetta with POC officials after they rejected the Senator’s presidency in Table Tennis Association of the Philippines (TATAP) almost four years ago because of the lack of merit.

“Senator Trillanes doesn’t know Philippines sports and didn’t spend even a single centavo from his ‘pork barrel’ for the welfare of Filipino athletes,” said Cojuangco Jr. “He’s taking it personal against me because he liked to become the head of table tennis before but he’s not qualified.”

When former TATAP president Col. Cesar Hawthorne Binag filed a leave of absence in 2010, Trillanes was elected president by the board of trustees but the POC didn’t recognize the election because it violated its own association’s by-laws.  

(READ: Host Asian games? Support athletes first – POC)

Binag maintained the presidency that time. Ting Ledesma is the current president of TATAP.

During the senate hearing last February 6, Trillanes said that Cojuangco is the biggest problem in Philippines sports.

“He is a hopeless case. He is a problem,” said by the Senator. “He ruined track and field, dragon boat and table tennis. He messed up everything in Philippine sports.”

But Cojuangco explained that the Filipino athletes could not take home more than 29 golds in the last 27th Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar last December because of the host country’s decision to put more  traditional sports than the Olympic sports.

“I’m hoping they study first what really happened and how the organizers work in SEA Games before they accused us,” said Cojuangco Jr., who did not attend the senate hearing.

POC Chairman Tom Carrasco and board member Cynthia Carreon attended the senate hearing.

The Senate called for a hearing with other sports officials 6 to advocate the creation of Department of Sports and National Academy of Sports, but Trillanes criticized Cojuangco’s performance in the last biennial meet during that hearing.

The POC and the Philippine Sports Commission, for their part, reasoned out the low budget and lack of funding to the current poor state of Philippine sports. – Rappler.com