Last Thursday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the suspension of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) from its roll of international sports federation.

IOC president Thomas Bach said the Inquiry Committee chaired by Nenad Lalovic of Serbia made this recommendation after finding out that the status of AIBA president Gafur Rakhimov of Uzbekistan "presents serious legal, financial and reputational risks to the IOC and the Olympic movement."

Rakhimov is no ordinary sport executive.

He is said to be a member of the dreaded "Brother's Circle," a criminal group composed of leaders and senior members of various Eurasian criminal groups.

The AIBA chief is also said to be the big boss of an Uzbek syndicate that specializes in drug trafficking in countries within Central Asia and has links with another transnational syndicate known as "Thieves in Law."

That's why the US Department of Treasury included his name in its "sanctions list," making it extremely difficult for both the IOC and AIBA to work and transact with companies or officials in the US if he remains at the helm.

Although Rakhimov strongly denied any wrongdoing and stepped aside in March following months of intense pressure and negative publicity, the IOC still stripped AIBA of recognition and will formalize this decision in its general assembly on 24 June.

In the meantime, the world-governing body tapped gymnastics chief Morinari Watanabe of Japan to spearhead the formation of a task force that would run the boxing competition in the Tokyo Olympics next year.

Watanabe also assumed the responsibility of organizing an Olympic qualification system from January to May of next year since the IOC will no longer recognize all Olympic qualifying tournaments organized by the embattled boxing federation.

This shocking development has massive impact to Philippine sports.

Here, boxing is not just a mere federation. The Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) president in Ricky Vargas also happens to be the chief of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and it's very important that he remains in power as we enter the crucial stretch of our preparation for the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

His trusted men in the Olympic council are boxing executives as well. POC secretary general Patrick Gregorio is the secretary general of ABAP while communications director Ed Picson is the executive director of the local boxing body.

Vargas is in a terrible position.

The POC executive council is demanding him to explain his involvement in the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) Foundation, Inc., a body that runs smack with the ad hoc organizing committee created and ratified by the Olympic council under former POC chief Jose "Peping" Cojuangco in 2017.

Interestingly, Gregorio and Picson are also part of Phisgoc Foundation as well as former POC chairman Tom Carrasco.

The board gave Vargas five working days to explain, but until now, he has yet to give a single word to POC board members, who made it very clear that they are not calling for his ouster, but just to help him untangle the mess with only six months left before the SEA Games.

That's right; POC board members do not want Vargas to step down. They know that our SEA Games hosting will be doomed if a new leader will rise.

But with the IOC stripping AIBA its recognition and assuming the role as chief organizer of boxing events in the Olympics, it appears that Vargas' leadership in the POC is in danger.

Remember: The primary requirement for an NSA to be a member of the POC family is the recognition from its international federation.

Sure, boxing will still be played in the Olympics. But in the eyes of the IOC, AIBA no longer exists and was already barred from running the boxing events in the Olympics or hold Olympic qualifying tournaments.

And with AIBA already up in smoke, it no longer has the mandate to issue recognition to 203 national boxing federations from five continents, including ABAP.

> *That's right; POC board members do not want Vargas to step down. They know that our SEA Games hosting will be doomed if a new leader will rise.*

With that, the POC will have no choice but to follow the steps taken by its mother organization — the IOC — and strip ABAP its recognition, leaving Vargas, Gregorio and Picson with no NSA hold on to.

Yes, there's still a silver lining as the IOC has yet to set definite guidelines or memorandum on what will happen to the federations under the AIBA umbrella. It has yet to state whether these NSA will still exist or cease their operations.

But one thing is clear: what happened to AIBA is a cruel twist to our mission of organizing a successful SEA Games. It is a gigantic distraction that is pestering three of the country's highest sports executives with only six months left before the biennial meet.

Changing the leadership in the POC at this point is like changing sports cars in the middle of a race. We already took several steps back in our SEA Games preparation when Vargas replaced Cojuangco through a court-ordered election last year and now we're facing the same situation again.

We really can't afford to have another POC president — not at this point. The timing is bad.

If that happens, the success of our SEA Games hosting, a momentous event where our countrymen will draw pride and strength, will surely be in peril.