What’s going on?

Instead of Philippine sports moving forward, it seems to be headed for a resounding crash.

The recent verbal tussle between Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) chairman Jose Cojuangco and Sen. Richard Gordon is an example of why Philippine sports is dying. Rather than agreeing to join forces in building up for the Southeast Asian Games, they engaged in finger-pointing at a Senate hearing the other day on the country’s readiness to host the biennial event late this year.

Neither Cojuangco nor Gordon is at fault. It’s just that the political atmosphere is so pervasive and conducive to grandstanding or bickering.

Where the jousting will lead to is anybody’s guess.

Surely, the First Gentleman is miffed. He’s worked so hard to get captains of industry and sports officials on the same page only to hear war drums beating ever so loudly.

There are so many internal squabbles within National Sports Associations (NSAs) that it will probably take two terms for Cojuangco to sort out the problems judiciously.

Take the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association (PASA) row. When Celso Dayrit was POC president, he affirmed Chito Ilagan’s presidency as legitimate and ruled Mark Joseph’s attempt to wrest leadership control as unconstitutional. Ilagan and Dayrit are known to be allies. But with Dayrit gone and Cojuangco now in the saddle, the POC Arbitration Committee booted out Ilagan to install Joseph.

That’s not the end of it. Ilagan is crying foul. He’s not taking the Arbitration Committee’s decision sitting down. Will he go to the courts? Is that option open to Ilagan? If the courts interfere in what is purely an internal NSA issue, it sets a dangerous precedent. But if Ilagan is right, what is his recourse to seek justice?

Problems in wrestling, chess, women’s basketball, softball and billiards are threatening to upset the applecart, too.

Former POC president Col. Julian Malonso says Philippine sports "is in the hands of the wrong people, thus deviating from the real objectives of educating the youth spiritually, morally, physically, psychologically and mentally."

He continues:

"The IOC (International Olympic Committee) representative who is the eyes and ears (of the IOC) in the Philippines should look into this. He should resist government, religious and economic intervention."

In the wake of this muddled state of affairs comes the voice of a concerned parent of an 8-year-old swimmer.

Willa Isabella Tecson sent a fax to The STAR decrying the lack of sportsmanship of the Alabang Gators swimming competition organizers in not inviting the defending champion Metro Skipjacks to the annual meet last weekend.

The Skipjacks were invited to participate in at least three previous Alabang competitions and won the overall championship last year.

"The behind-the-scenes politics within the swimming community is becoming unbearable and I must voice out my opinion in behalf of other parents and coaches who share the same view," said Tecson.

"My opinion is that the Philippine swimming world is plagued with politics and vicious rumor-mongering. Officers of PASA, coaches and event organizers and even parents are not exempt from this politics. This politics has different power blocks with its own brand of clashes, pettiness and jealousies. Their maneuverings permeate the sport’s community and has almost become an accepted part of the swimming culture. There are members in the swimming community that play by the rules of sportsmanship despite differences in opinion and personalities. There are those involved in the politics that don’t.

"Who are the victims? Obviously, our children. It is my child who reached her senior years as 6-and-under and was not able to compete in major swim events in Manila because her team was not invited. It is our children who train three to five times a week, loading hours in the pool, coping with their studies despite their training hours, sacrificing TV hours and the malling pastime. Our children have a swimmer’s life and this asks for sacrifices from them and also from us as their parents. So for our children to not be able to swim in competitions because of some personal clashes between coaches is petty, shallow and unjustifiable.

"If our young swimmers can compete with other swimmers in the pool and yet emerge from the pool smiling as friends or long-known acquaintances, I don’t see why we cannot do the same. Our children are innocent of pettiness, envy and politics. I, as a parent, want my little swimmer to get the best values in sportsmanship. I want her to win on her merit and not because the best swimmers did not come to compete."

For the team that won at the Alabang Gators competition, there will always be a nagging sense of doubt. Why? Because the Metro Skipjacks, this year’s defending champions, did not participate. When will the swimming community grow up?"

Tecson’s expression of exasperation is shared by those whose heart is in sports, not in politics.