BOXING chief Ricky Vargas yesterday said he will go to court for an “objective and authoritative interpretation of this indistinct eligibility requirement” that was used by the POC Comelec to disqualify him from running as POC president.
Chito Salud, speaking on behalf of Vargas, blasted the Comelec’s denial of their motion for consideration as “narrow-minded and simplistic,” adding that “Mr. Vargas will seek redress in the courts of law.”
“The narrow-minded and simplistic interpretation of the rules on eligibility is in many ways not surprising. It only validates our belief that the time for change has come. It is but unfortunate that change will once again have to be wrested from, rather than guided and ushered in by enlightened leaders we in the sports community sorely miss,” Salud said in a statement yesterday.
“But it has to be done, and it will be done. With the support of the very athletes whose welfare is the sole, paramount driving force of our efforts and with malice toward no one, Ricky Vargas shall carry on this relentless quest for change,” Salud added.
In its resolution last Friday, the Comelec said Vargas attended just one out of the last 20 meetings of the General Assembly from February to May 2016, which does not make him an “active member” eligible to run for the POC presidency.
Salud insisted, however, that this interpretation was unreasonable and myopic, especially since the POC By-Laws do not clearly define what an active member is.
“The election committee failed and refused to see the merits of the arguments raised by Mr. Vargas. It has chosen to stick to its myopic and unreasonable interpretation of ‘active member.’ The POC by-laws do not contain any definition of ‘active member’ or any clear guidelines to determine active membership,” he said.
“By insisting on attendance and physical presence in the general assembly as the sole measure of a candidate’s activity, the election committee is arbitrarily placing a restriction on eligibility where the rules provide none. The election committee in effect arrogates unto itself the power to amend the POC by-laws without the approval of the member-NSAs,” he added. (Malaya)
