Mysterious exit
After all, changing horses in the middle of the race isn’t a good idea
It is no secret that crucial details in the preparation for the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games were tagged as confidential.
From the creation of logo, theme, mascot and other marketing collaterals to the contracts and deals entered into up to the formation of a new organizing body, it was very obvious that everybody, including the executive board of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), was kept in the dark on what’s going on.
This resulted to a lot of troubles.
In fact, Ricky Vargas stepped down as president of the POC after his board questioned him on his involvement in the new organizing body, the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) Foundation Inc.
Soon, executive council members like POC chairman Abraham Tolentino, board members Clint Aranas and Cynthia Carrion also resigned, sparking unrest and political chaos in the local Olympic council.
The International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia had no choice but to step in and call for special elections with Tolentino emerging as the new POC president, Steve Hontiveros being elected as POC chairman and Carrion and Aranas retaining their respective positions.
The new leadership immediately reached out to the disgruntled board members, leading to signing of the tripartite agreement with the Phisgoc and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). Problem solved? Well, not really. A lot of questions were still left unanswered. And last week, a bigger mystery emerged. In a shocking twist that again caught members of the POC executive council by surprise, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano announced that Phisgoc chief operating officer (COO) Ramon Suzara is on his way out.
Cayetano, who was appointed as Phisgoc chairman by the POC executive board in 2017, said the planning stage is already over and it is now time to move to the day-to-day operation and execution so he might as well bring in a new team that includes PSC chairman William “Butch” Ramirez.
Although he denied firing Suzara, his former teacher at La Salle Zobel, he hinted that he would now be taking a lesser role in the SEA Games preparation after reportedly accepting a position in the organizing body of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Cayetano and the Phisgoc board were supposed to sit down at his office in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, but the meeting was reportedly called off.
But with Suzara now enjoying the sweet morning dew of Tokyo, leaving behind tons of problems like the procurement of equipment and construction of venues and facilities, will it have an impact on the country’s SEA Games preparation? Absolutely.
Look, Suzara is the master planner of the Games. Everything that is now being executed by Phisgoc like the massive volunteer program, hiring of world-class performers for the opening and closing ceremonies, staging a record of 56 sports, soliciting private support and other crucial initiatives that were mostly kept secret from the POC executive board were all according to his playbook.
In short, he is the conductor who directs the SEA Games orchestra.
I believe the move to have him replaced entering the final two months of preparation reeks with questions and controversies.
First, why would he abandon a massive project that took him years to plan? And, second, if his move to Tokyo in the middle of September was really part of the plan, why didn’t Cayetano inform his partners in SEA Games hosting — the PSC and the POC — ahead of time? Isn’t it proper that he tells his fellow stakeholders about this major development so they can at least brace for its impact?
Simply put, Suzara’s mysterious departure puts sports leaders, stakeholders and, yes, even private sponsors, at the edge of their seats, wildly contemplating if the SEA Games would still go on as planned.
Still, the Phisgoc must explain.
POC insiders revealed that a prominent company that has a platinum sponsorship agreement with Phisgoc was restless, worried over the success of the Games and worthiness of its multi-million investment.
With this, Jojit Alcazar, the new officer-in-charge whom Cayetano also failed to introduce during his ambush interview with House reporters last week, came up with a statement to members of the Phisgoc family that Suzara still remains as their COO and will only be on-leave from 11 to 30 September.
He said it should still be business as usual for them and all officials ranging from the top management to members of all functional areas should still perform their regular duties. Still, the Phisgoc must explain.
A lot of secret initiatives and deals were forged before. Once and for all, the Phisgoc must come clean and explain before POC members why it had to let go of the person who has been plotting the SEA Games program right from the start.
After all, changing horses in the middle of the race isn’t a good idea.
The POC general assembly will have a meeting on 25 September and it will be a perfect venue to clear the air and explain the very reason behind Suzara’s mysterious exit.
That, for me, is the only way to calm this nervy situation.