Today, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) general assembly will choose its new leaders.

Two contending parties are in play here: The group of the majority of the POC executive council and the group of former POC president Ricky Vargas.

The executive board members are the same people who cried for justice after Vargas established the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) Foundation Inc. without their approval.

Vargas is one of Phisgoc's eight original incorporators together with former POC secretary general Patrick Gregorio, former POC chairman Tom Carrasco and POC communications director Ed Picson as well as private individuals like Ramon Suzara, Monica Anne Mitra, Dexter Estacio and Donaldo Caringal.

When the board members sought Vargas' explanation over his involvement in an organizing body that aims to take over the country's hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games without board resolution from the POC, which is the franchise-holder of the meet, Vargas simply made a quick escape and stepped down.

To avoid a power vacuum, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) stepped in and called for special elections.

That's why we're in this messy situation right now. The IOC, the OCA and the POC executive board are trying to fix the massive damage created by Vargas' lapse in judgment.

Anyway, the board members will be fielding two of the most seasoned sports executives in the country in Philip Ella Juico of athletics as president and Steve Hontiveros as chairman as well as a pair of rising stars in Clint Aranas of archery and Lailani Velasco as board members.

On the other hand, Vargas' group pits former POC chairman Abraham Tolentino of cycling as president, Robert Aventajado of taekwondo as chairman and Monico Puentevella of weightlifting and Cynthia Carrion of gymnastics as board members.

Those in the know are claiming that it's going to be a very close fight, something that would be as thrilling and as dramatic as the one that happened in 2008 when Jose "Peping" Cojuangco of equestrian defeated the late Arturo Macapagal of shooting by only two votes, 21-19.

From where I stand, I can see that Juico is the underdog.

The mild-mannered former Philippine Sports Commission chairman doesn't have the political clout, the warchest and the power that Tolentino enjoys for being an incumbent lawmaker and brother of a sitting senator of the Republic and assistant secretary in the Social Secretary Office in Malacañang.

Add to that that the machinery and influence that Vargas has for being a ranking executive of the group handled by industrialist Manny Pangilinan, who also supports golf, badminton, basketball, football and taekwondo.

In fact, board member Prospero Pichay, who used to be one of the most vocal supporters of the POC executive council at the height of the Phisgoc issue, reportedly already told his colleagues that he would vote for Tolentino since they would be working together in the 18th Congress.

After all, Phisgoc chairman Alan Peter Cayetano had been elected as House Speaker while Tolentino will be on top of the powerful Committee on Accounts, which controls the internal budget of the House.

Well, Juico and his group admitted that Pichay's commitment — or lack thereof — is a major blow to their campaign, but they fully understand it.

Given this scenario, it appears that Tolentino will be the new POC president.

Now, the question is: Will Tolentino's victory render the majority of the POC executive council powerless and legitimize Vargas' decision of establishing Phisgoc Foundation?

Yes and no.

Look, if Tolentino and his group would sweep the special polls, they will clinch four seats in the executive council.

Aside from that, Tolentino would also have the power to appoint a secretary general, who will have voting rights during board meetings. Of course, I already mentioned Pichay, who may have switched loyalty but still remains an active part of the board.

### Given this scenario, it appears that Tolentino will be the new POC president.

Easily, Tolentino's group would have six votes in the executive council, effectively splitting the board into two with first vice president Joey Romasanta of volleyball, second vice president Jeff Tamayo of soft tennis, treasurer Julian Camacho of wushu, auditor Jonne Go of canoe kayak, board member Robert Mananquil of billiards and IOC representative Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski comprising the other half.

The vote of the immediate past president could be the tiebreaker.

In his previous statement, Tolentino said Vargas is the rightful owner of that position since he is the "most recent" president following his resignation in June.

He justified his claim by saying that the moment Vargas stepped down, he would be the immediate past president since he will supplant the authority of Cojuangco.

But lawyer Charlie Ho of netball has an interesting take on this.

For him, Vargas is not yet qualified to become the immediate past president since his term as POC president would not lapse until November of 2020. And since Vargas failed to finish his term, Cojuangco remains the immediate past president and he can only assume the position once his term lapses next year.

Well, if we set aside the issue of the immediate past president, which I expect would land again on local courts similar to what happened in the outcome of the POC polls in 2016, what we have is an executive board that is perfectly divided.

We know that preparations for the SEA Games are already in full swing and the Olympic council has to come up with a lot of major decisions in the next couple of months.

If the POC board will have a stalemate in the event of a Tolentino victory, it's going to be very difficult to pass resolutions as everything has to be referred to the general assembly.

The IOC and OCA called for special elections in a bid to unite the POC.

But with the way things are going, it appears that unity and peace remain elusive.