MVP won't mediate in POC-PSC controversy

MANILA, Philippines - Business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan would rather help sports than mediate between Philippine Sports Commission chairman Harry Angping and Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose Cojuangco Jr. who don’t see eye to eye.

The chairman of PLDT/Smart, who throws in millions and millions of pesos to support basketball, boxing, taekwondo and tennis, said he’d rather stay in the neutral corner.

“To mediate? Mahirap siguro ‘yun (It may be difficult),” said MVP, smiling and probably amused by the suggestion that he step in between the two warring sports leaders.

“This could distract us from the attention and effort we’re putting in for sports. All we want is to help sports. Now, if there’s politics, maybe we can deal with it but not be part of it,” he said.

“Let’s not mix politics and sports. The athletes will suffer,” added MVP at the well-attended Scoop sa Kamayan forum.

During the forum, he and his trusted men, Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president Ricky Vargas and secretary-general Pato Gregorio, bared their plans for this year.

And for boxing alone, they announced a new partnership with the PSC, and Vargas said he was pleased that ABAP is in the same page with the PSC chairman regarding its programs.

Vargas said the PSC has vowed to support the training of the 40 boxers under ABAP’s wings. He said the PSC has alloted P8 million to P10 million for boxing, and broke it down to P4 million for the training, P1.5 million for the coaches and P2 million for overseas exposure.

“This do not include the P350 daily meal allowance for the boxers,” said Vargas, adding that PLDT/Smart is also coughing up as much as P30 million for the boxing program.

Vargas also reacted to reports that Cojuangco wants the POC to sever its ties with the PSC, and look for ways how it could fund the athletes, from the elite down to the aspiring ones, without any support from the government sports agency.

Cojuangco said he will try to tap the private sector to get it done.

“Huwag lang sana mag-duplicate (I just hope there’s no duplication),” said Vargas, probably referring to the support which PLDT/Smart has poured into the different sports it chose to help.

“So we don’t want to get involved with that. Like if we’re already supporting boxing, and it already involves a lot of money,” said Vargas.

“Bahala na sila sa iba (They should take care of the rest),” he said, adding that the rift between the PSC and the POC is not for the NSAs (national sports associations) like boxing to worry about.

“That’s between the two of them. I just hope that their non-cooperation will not affect our programs. And I hope they will be able to help us rather than stop us from doing our program,” Vargas said.