THE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) welcomed on Wednesday its newest member—the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Inc. (PNVFI)—thus officially rendering legitimacy to the sports’ governing body in the country.
The POC general assembly was unanimous with its decision that the organization’s leadership stopped counting when the vote favoring the PNVFI reached 40 members.
There are 52 voting members of the POC and practically everyone accepted the new federation and Ramon “Tats” Suzara’s presidency.
Except two—weightlifting’s Monico Puentevella and squash’s Robert Bachmann.
Weightlifting association head Monico Puentevella badgered the PNVFI and Suzara’s presidency, linking the new federation to the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee which has yet to release an audited report on the Games the country hosted in 2019.
But Puentevella was deemed out of order by the POC high chair and was chastised by POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino for grandstanding.
Tolentino rebuked Puentevella’s claim that previous POC officials are delinquent in their liquidation on their financial assistance from government.
“Some of them even became officers despite having an ongoing case,” said Tolentino without mentioning names.
Bachmann opted to only submit a negative vote without making any comment.
As a result of PNVFI’s recognition, the Larong Volleyball ng Pilipinas Inc. was deleted as a provisional member. The other volleyball organization, the Philippine Volleyball Federation, was also expelled from the organization.
“We presented the expulsion decision made by the POC board [against the PVF] and the General Assembly just confirmed that—and that’s finished. It’s a unanimous approval,” POC Secretary-General Atty. Edwin Gastanes told BusinessMirror.
“On LVPI, the General Assembly now considers it to have surrendered or waived its earlier provisional POC recognition as a national sports association in 2015 because it has actively participated in the election last Monday where its members were also elected in the new volleyball association,” Gastanes said.
The POC, Gastanes said, will make a report to the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) on PNVFI’s recognition. The FIVB, in turn, is expected to recognize the PNVFI during its online world congress from February 5 to 7.
Suzara, who didn’t attend the general assembly, expressed his gratitude to the POC and to the other national sports associations for supporting the PNVFI.
“We thank the POC for its leadership, the other NSAs which have unanimously approved the PNVFI membership, and all volleyball stakeholders who have been waiting for a genuine change so we can move the sports forward, onward, upward,” Suzara said.
Tolentino, meanwhile, relayed to the General Assembly the International Olympic Committee’s assurance that the Tokyo Olympics would push through from July 23 to August 8. More than 70 NSA officials—regular, associate and recognized members—attended the POC’s first General Assembly either physically or online for 2021 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Taguig City.