Mendoza: What can I say but good luck, Sen. Trillanes
-A A +AAll Write
Friday, August 17, 2012
THE talking has started.
No, the explaining? Reasoning?
Or is it blaming time?
Nothing new there, actually.
It happens all the time.
After we suffer a debacle in overseas sporting battles, the blaming follows.
It is a tired refrain, as old as prostitution.
In fact, it will go on and on and on. A broken record, indeed.
“Let us tap the schools in our search for Olympic heroes,” says one sports official.
Nice one. But that has been said a thousand and one times.
“Let us include sports in the school curriculum,” another sports official says.
Nice one, too. But that, too, has been said a thousand and one times.
Another says, “Let’s also scour the grassroots. Many talents are hidden there.”
A solution as old as Bicol’s Ruins of Cagsawa.
Again, I do not mention their names. No need. Doing it might only sully the good name of this paper.
But allow me to exempt one: Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.
Trillanes says his Senate Resolution 838 will investigate the “poor performance” of our 11 athletes in the just-ended London Olympics.
Zero is “poor?”
Zero is none, period.
Trillanes’s resolution will also zero in on our sixth-place finish in the last SEA Games in Indonesia.
“We recognize the talent of our athletes and their display of perseverance, dedication, moral courage, strength of character and competitive spirit in various athletic competitions,” Trillanes says. “It is very evident, however, based on our recent performances in global and regional competitions that our country is not at par with the Olympic competitors and lags behind our Southeast Asian neighbors as well.”
Not to belittle Trillanes’s effort but how many times have we had that kind of move from Congress?
Also to be investigated like suspected criminals, Trillanes says, would be the top officials of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
Uh-oh. Danger there. The POC isn’t beholden to anyone, not even to the president of the Philippines. The POC is a republic in itself. Virtually untouchable.
Who’s Trillanes’s chief of staff?
Good luck, Mr. Senator.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 18, 2012.
Sports
Forum rules: Do not use obscenity. Some words have been banned. Stick to the topic. Do not veer away from the discussion. Be coherent and respectful. Do not shout or use CAPITAL LETTERS!
