By Nick Giongco
The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) is taking the ruling issued by a Pasig court that is ordering the POC to hold an election on Feb. 23 seriously.
Make that very seriously.
In fact, lawyer Ramon Malinao of the POC is in the process of finalizing the document that he will submit to the Court of Appeals (CA) asking that the elections be moved to a later date.
“We are seeking for a TRO or a preliminary injunction,” said Malinao, tasked by POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco to deal with the crisis gripping his leadership.
Last month, Pasig court judge Maria Gracia Casaclang ruled that the election of Cojuangco was null and void and that boxing boss Ricky Vargas should have been allowed to run against him.
Vargas was ruled ineligible by the POC owing to a technicality stemming from his repeated absences in the bi-monthly POC General Assembly.
Malinao said if the court doesn’t rule in the POC’s favor, there will be no other recourse but to push through with the election, adding that the ruling is “final and executory.”
Vargas’ bid for the POC presidency is also backed by basketball, whose chief benefactor is tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan. Other sports supporting him include taekwondo, golf, football, archery, badminton and cycling as these are part of Pangilinan’s sports foundation.