Alan Peter Cayetano must be dreaming when he said that the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) Foundation Inc. remains the chief organizer of the 30th Southeast Asian Games despite a change of leadership in the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

Hold My Beer

a mere ad hoc committee that was approved and ratified by the POC executive board in 2017, was incorporated to become the Phisgoc Foundation, Inc., a body that aims to control everything as far as the hosting of the SEA Games and other future tournaments in the next 50 years are concerned.

Of course, POC raised a howl.

Organizing and sending delegates to major international tournaments like the SEA Games, Asian Games and the Olympics are part of the mandate of the POC as a member of the SEA Games Federation Council, Olympic Council of Asia and International Olympic Committee (IOC), but here comes Phisgoc Foundation wanting to take over its functions.

In a press briefing last week, Cayetano told

reporters that the existence of Phisgoc Foundation as chief operator of the biennial meet was done aboveboard.

In fact, it was approved and ratified by the POC executive board under the leadership of Jose “Peping” Cojuangco in 2017 and was given the blessing of Malacanang through Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

Then, he said that instead of questioning the validity of Phisgoc’s existence, critics should talk about the facilities and preparations of the athletes, a statement that seems like a desperate bid to sweep this massive issue under the rug for no one to see.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to question the legality of Phisgoc Foundation.

I remember that when the country volunteered to host the SEA Games following the withdrawal of Brunei, a three-man body composed of Philippine Sports Commission chairman William “Butch” Ramirez, Senator Miguel Zubiri and Cojuangco was immediately formed to lay down the foundation of the country’s hosting.

Zubiri, the president of arnis federation, was invited to be part of the three-man panel as the national government was grooming him to head the organizing body.

But the war in Marawi broke out.

With this, President Duterte decided that the SEA Games hosting is no longer pushing as all efforts and resources should be focused on rebuilding the war-torn city. Zubiri also begged off and the hosting was formally dead.

Then in 2017, a small miracle happened.

Cayetano came out of nowhere to declare his intention to spearhead the hosting. Cojuangco welcomed him with open arms and appointed him chairman of the SEA Games organizing committee, an ad hoc body that is directly under the control and supervision of the POC.

Cayetano, who was then the Foreign Affairs secretary, immediately flew to Kuala Lumpur to receive the SEA Games flag from the SEA Games Federation Council, signifying his intention to lead the country’s hosting.

Few months later, Cojuangco was booted out of power after Ricky Vargas won in a court-ordered election.

And while nobody was looking, the SEA Games organizing body,

When the board members checked Phisgoc’s Articles of Incorporation, everything made sense.

They discovered that Vargas was part of the original incorporators together with Gregorio, former POC chairman Tom Carrasco and POC communications director Ed Picson. Also included were Donaldo Caringal, Ramon Suzara, Monica Mitra and Dexter Estacio, who are all outsiders to the Olympic family, but are close to Cayetano.

To him, Phisgoc Foundation remains the chief organizer of the Games since it is one and the same as the ad hoc committee that was formed by the POC executive board in 2017.

With that, eight of the 13 board members questioned Vargas on his involvement in Phisgoc Foundation and gave him five working days to reply.

Vargas refused to comply and instead delivered an emotional speech before national sports association leaders. Then, he fired key POC board members from their respective appointive positions.

Finally, IOC director for National Olympic Committee Relations Jerome Polvey stepped in and instructed Vargas to “follow your board.”

Vargas had no choice, but to show up in a crucial board meeting last Tuesday. But instead of shedding light in an official board meeting, he tendered his irrevocable resignation, prompting POC first vice president Joey Romasanta – the most senior among the board members – to step in by virtue of succession.

With Vargas no longer in power, the POC board continues to press for control, claiming that it is the rightful franchise-holder of the SEA Games in the country. As Romasanta said: We’re not assuming for something that’s not ours.

The POC board wants to take charge in organizing the Games – not because of the massive P6-billion budget – but to make sure that the conduct of holding the Games will be compliant with the technical requirements of their respective international federations.

But Cayetano is still defiant.

And with the way things are going, expect the tug-of-war to intensify as the biennial meet draws near.