Members of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) executive board asserted their authority and changed the combination of signatories in the organization’s bank account. Julian Camacho said he couldn’t perform his function as the duly elected POC treasurer after POC president Ricky Vargas and POC treasurer Patrick Gregorio made themselves signatories in the organization’s bank transactions months after winning a court-ordered election last year. With that, the majority of the board passed a resolution on 30 April authorizing Camacho and Vargas to be the signatories as well as Gregorio and POC first vice president Joey Romasanta for check and balance purposes. There’s a hefty amount in the POC account. Aside from the subsidy from the International Olympic Committee, the donations from the Philippine Basketball Association, MVP Sports Foundation and San Miguel Corporation amounting to a total of P70 million were there. The fund was supposed to go to the training expenses of national athletes for various international tournaments, but reports have it that Vargas spent it for the salaries of Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) Foundation, Inc. executives and employees without the approval of the POC board. “It was Vargas and Pato Gregorio who made themselves signatories in our bank account. I am the elected treasurer so I have the right to know the status of our finances.” After finding out that the checks signed by Vargas and Gregorio are no longer being honored, POC general manager Art Aro issued a message to executive council members that the bank’s legal department “put on hold” all POC transactions. Aro further claimed that Gregorio had to use his “personal money” to fund the payroll of the POC staff. If they don’t have money, I am available to sign checks 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He said the changes would also affect the P100,000 subsidy to SEA Games-bound NSAs as well as the P1.5-million grant from the Olympic Council of Asia, allowance of Olympic Solidarity Movement scholars and annual financial support to various sports federations. But strongly Camacho dismissed Aro’s claim. “If they don’t have money, I am available to sign checks 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Camacho. “Nothing has changed. Our account was not frozen. We just changed the signatories so I can perform my function as POC treasurer. Monitoring our finances is part of my job.” Lawyer Clint Aranas, a prominent member of the POC board, said there’s nothing wrong with what Camacho did. In fact, it has the support of eight of the 13 voting members, giving the bank no choice but to grant their request. “They put the POC treasurer out of the loop so we decided to change the signatories in the POC bank account,” said Aranas, the president of archery and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System. “Like any corporation, the majority should have the power in the POC. In this case, we have the majority and we exercised our authority. I don’t see anything wrong with that.” “They should not worry because Mr. Camacho will make himself available to sign checks. It’s going to be business as usual for us.” Vargas is one of Phisgoc Foundation’s eight incorporators. The POC strongly questions his involvement since it recognizes the Phisgoc ad hoc body headed by Alan Peter Cayetano. Camacho admitted that the POC fund is now down to around P30 million. “The P70 million donated by the PBA is now down to around P30 million. Where did they put it? I don’t know because they put me out of the loop,” said Camacho in a press briefing late Friday.