I WASN’T impressed when Michel Lhuillier was appointed head of the Cebu Province Sports Commission because of his stint as head of the Cebu City Sports Commission. I may be one of the veterans in the sportswriting beat but I’m not veteran enough to have been active at the time when Lhuillier was actively involved in sports and not just as a bankroller of teams.
As CCSC chairman more than a decade ago, he was more of a figurehead, which was in direct contrast to the style of the guy he replaced, Jonathan Guardo. Fast forward to the creation of the Cebu Province Sports Commission thanks to an ordinance by sportsman Yayoy Alcoseba, he was appointed as chair of the new commission.
I thought he’d be still a figurehead and I was right.
So I was surprised when he was retained by Gov. Hilario Davide III when Coach Yayoy was no longer involved and it turns out, the Nyorito we know is different from the real one.
“Di ko ka attend meeting kay dili man ko ninyo imbitahon,” CPSC secretary general Atty. Ramil Abing told me of an exchange they had with Lhuillier.
Describing Lhuillier as an overly generous and supportive chairman, Atty. Abing said that Cebu Province’s athletes are lucky to have him as chairman.
“Ikaw na lang maulaw,” he said, adding that at one point, he had to gently remind Lhuillier that he didn’t have to spend his own money as the province has allocated funds for the CPSC projects.
During one celebration for the province’s medalists, Atty. Abing said that Lhuillier asked him how much the athletes were receiving and from where would the funds be sourced. When he learned that the incentives would be taken from the unspent funds of the delegation, he decided right there and then to add his own money, so each of the medalists would receive more.
CPSC, like the CCSC, has been actively engaged in sports for the last two years, launching one major program after another, the latest being the Gov. Cup competition for girls’ volleyball, and Atty. Abing said they are open to adding futsal next year.
We can dream big and hope for a GUV Cup for football but I think that could only happen if we have at least two artificial pitches—one at the SRP and one at CCSC. And given Lhuillier’s love of football, it won’t be a stretch that football or futsal would be the next addition to the Gov. Cup.