AFTER being inducted into office in Malacañang last Friday by President Marcos Jr., Commissioner Olivia “Bong” Coo takes over today as the officer-in-charge of the Philippine Sports Commission.
“We have recommended to Malacañang that Commissioner Bong Coo should be the PSC officer-in-charge now that she has taken her oath of office and can now discharge her duties and responsibilities with the PSC,” said PSC executive director Atty. Guillermo Iroy Jr.
“She will function as the OIC until a new chairman has been formally named by Malacañang,” added Iroy, who has acted as PSC officer-in-charge since June 30 after former chairman William “Butch” Ramirez’s term expired.
Coo, the first commissioner appointed by Marcos in late June, has been briefed for the past few weeks by Iroy and other top staff of the PSC about the ins and outs of the government agency, which is tasked to promote and develop sports in the country.
“We are grateful to Atty. Iroy and the other senior staff for briefing us on the workings of the PSC these past few weeks. While I understand the need for it, am hoping that my stint as PSC officer-in-charge will be brief as possible as we await the appointment of the new PSC chairman,” she said.
She expressed the urgency of having a full and functioning PSC board so that it could address the needs of the National Sports Associations and other projects under its supervision.
For example, Coo revealed there are several international competitions where they country is scheduled to take part in next year that needs to be funded and supported but would require resolutions of the PSC board.
Among these are the 31st Southeast Asian Games set May 5 to 16, 2023 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, followed by the 12th Asean Para Games also in the Cambodian capital the following month.
Also scheduled for Sept. 23 to Oct. 8, 2023 is the 19th Asian Games, with original Chinese host city Hangzhou as the likely venue to the continental meet, as well as the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games set Nov. 17 to 16, 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand.
“The funding and support of all these international competitions will require resolutions of the PSC board so we pray that we have a new chairman and other board members so we can form it in the next few weeks,” said Coo, who has resigned as president of the Philippine Bowling Federation.
She said this is why the national junior bowling team that left for the 21st Asian Junior Tenpin Bowling Championships last Saturday was not able to get financial assistance from the PSC.
“The request by the PBF to fund this team needed a PSC board resolution. Fortunately, we were able to raise some funds from private sponsors while the PSC helped in funding the coaches for the trip,” Coo said.
Date: August 15, 2022 | By: Bong Pedralvez | Newspaper: Malaya Business Insight | Source: https://malaya.com.ph/news_sports/coo-takes-over-as-psc-officer-in-charge/?fbclid=IwAR2-Vtoj5UQU6B3cdTFeM_IqeOuUlM5J-_DCBZIlF1FbdEbNNgl27qPbFSI
