FOR 12 straight years, Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. has been president of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). That means he is a three-term head of the country’s chief sports body recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

On November 25 Peping seeks a fourth term. This time, he faces the stiffest challenge yet

to his post that, from all indications, he considers his personal claim to fiefdom—if not greatness.

But that’s going ahead of the story.

Peping longest-serving president

THE IOC, based in Switzerland, is the exclusive owner and presenter of the Olympic Games, the world’s biggest, multibillion-dollar sporting spectacle held once every four years. Close to 300 nations send their athletes, screened by the IOC for eligibility, to play in the quadrennial Games.

Presidents of member-nations in the IOC are elected in every Olympic year, usually weeks after the Games. The Rio de Janeiro Olympics ended in September.

Eighty-two years old now, and sitting in his throne longer than outgoing US President Obama (eight years), and even former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a.k.a. GMA (nine years), Peping wants to extend his 12-year hold of the POC president to 16 years.

That means that, if he becomes POC president 14 or so days from now, Peping, in God’s grace, will be 86 by the time the next Olympics come along in 2020 in Tokyo.

But how he had gotten this far is also a tale of the extraordinary.

Peping survives eerie challenges

FIRST elected to his first of three four-year terms in 2004, Peping barely survived the challenge of his reelection bid against the late Art Macapagal in 2008.

It was the general view that had GMA helped her brother Art’s campaign to defeat Peping, Art, the former head of the country’s shooting body, would have made it.

As things turned out, Art, too steeped in principle that he shunned seeking help from his younger sister endowed with a wealth of presidential powers then, would lose—by the slimmest of margins, yet. The belief was that one of his allies had betrayed him hours before the election, resulting in a razor-thin, one-vote winning margin for Peping.

Art had tossed out the window a lesson of years back, when then-President Fidel V. Ramos employed the full force of Malacañang to make his daughter, Cristy Ramos-Jalasco, win the POC presidency.

A couple or so years ago, Art died of cancer—bringing with him to his grave his vision of a brighter tomorrow for sports.

Peping just 1 medal in last 3 Olympiads

IN three Olympic Games under Peping in 2008 Beijing, 2012 London and 2016 Rio, we had but one medal to show: Hidilyn Diaz’s weightlifting silver in September.

The silver was a shocker of sweet proportion: The credit was practically to Diaz mainly and her intrepid coach, as the duo had labored hard, relying mainly on their own resources.

In short, save for the POC’s blessing for Hidilyn’s stint in Rio—which was, of course, merely ministerial—Peping’s help was hardly felt by Diaz, before and during the Olympiad.

If truth be told, Duterte’s pre-departure words of inspiration to our Olympic-bound athletes (he doubled their pocket money, too) had impacted more on Hidilyn, who had called President Duterte “my idol from the very beginning.”

Peping makes PHL champ

IN fairness, Peping did well in his first term.

One year after he assumed power, we emerged overall champion with a whopping total of 113 gold medals in the Manila SEA Games in 2005.

But that feat was met by boos from Thailand, which called us “cheaters”. The Thais would next threaten they’d avenge their defeat in the next edition. True enough, Thailand reclaimed the SEA Games championship in 2007 in Nakhon Ratchasima.

That year our gold harvest had drastically dipped to 41 from 2005’s 113 golds. It was the start of an ugly decline in our Asiad participation.

From champion in 2005 to a ghastly sixth overall in 2007, we would slide to just 38 golds in 2009 Vientianne for fifth overall, 36 golds in 2011 Jakarta (sixth overall), 29 golds in 2013 Naypyitaw (Vietnam, seventh overall) and 29 golds in 2015 Singapore (sixth overall).

Peping sees successive Asiad slips

IT was even worst in our Asian Games results.

Two years after Peping’s ascent to power, he did fairly well as we won four gold medals in 2006 Doha Asiad, a leap from a two-gold performance in 2002 Busan Asiad.

But four years later we slipped to a three-gold haul and fell from 18th overall to 19th in 2010 Guangzhou Asiad. And then in 2014 Incheon Asiad, the slip was more gory: Just one gold, as we dropped to 22nd overall.

It was with these soul-searing signs of slips that Ricky Vargas would step up to challenge Peping for the POC presidency on November 25.

Peping disqualifies Vargas

HOWEVER, before Vargas could formally mount an official bid, he gets disqualified by a rule sprung on him by the POC.

The Comelec, headed by no less than Frank J. Elizalde, the former Philippine permanent representative to the IOC, ruled that Vargas had failed to complete a 50-percent attendance to the POC’s General Assembly meetings the last two years.

Elizalde claimed that that was a ground to disqualify Vargas, as Ricky’s absences made the president of the boxing body an “inactive member” of the POC.

Immediately, Vargas, through his lawyer Chito T. Salud, the former commissioner of the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association), appealed. But Elizalde denied the motion, prompting Vargas to seek remedies in court.

Peping has contentious Senate, too

ONE court case led to another and, soon, the Senate also wanted a piece of the action, instigated mainly by Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara. Curiously, not only is Vargas’s eligibility the issue in the Senate but also the POC’s finances, as well.

On the forthcoming Senate probe, here is Salud’s statement:

“We would welcome a Senate probe on POC issues as it highlights two important reasons why Ricky Vargas is presenting an alternative leadership: greater transparency and accountability. We believe that it should be fairly easy for the POC to account for the public money it received from the PSC. What would be puzzling is if these funds have, indeed, remained unliquidated over the years. The POC should publicly disclose how and where the money was utilized. And it should do so without further delay to allay growing concerns regarding nontransparency in its financial transactions. Basic norms of good governance demand this.”

Before this, Salud went to the Regional Trial Court in Pasig City, asking for a temporary restraining order against the POC election on November 25. He also prayed for a clarification of the word “active member” pertaining to any candidate in the coming election.

Peping also faces Fernandez

THE plot thickens as the Philippine Sports Commission (POC), the government agency tasked to finance athletes’ training and participation in global events, has entered the fray.

Here’s PSC Commissioner Ramon S. Fernandez, the former basketball superstar, on Peping’s stance to disqualify Vargas:

“Peping Cojuangco missed his chance to be on the right side of history by choosing to desperately cling to power notwithstanding strong and unmistakable calls for change in the POC leadership. By doing the unfair and unpatriotic act of hiding behind the skirt of technicalities, Peping and his minions killed freedom and democracy in Philippine sports.

“From my understanding of PSC’s mandate, its direct partners are the NSAs [national sports associations]. The PSC funds the athletes’ training, allowances, incentives, etc. The POC only certifies, approves the composition of the team members of the NSAs that will be sent to the games under the auspices of the IOC.

“It is my personal opinion that, because of the way they have interpreted the election rules only in their favor, to perpetuate themselves in power, contrary to the code of ethics of the IOC, the working relationships of the PSC and POC must change for the sake of Philippine sports.”

Is there hope for renaissance in Philippine sports?