The unity that has been eluding the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) was finally found.

And all it took was just one sport official without selfish interest to untangle the mess that resulted to a pair of special elections, several resignations and a lot of nasty accusations and bruised egos for the past couple of years.

Jesus Clint Aranas isn't the most seasoned or aggressive sport official around.

In fact, when he was first elected as POC board member shortly after the London Olympics in 2016, he barely attended the executive council meeting as he was so focussed on serving the Bureau of Internal Revenue before helming the Government Service Insurance System.

But when the scandal of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) Foundation Inc. broke out, Aranas felt that something must be done.

He bravely took the cudgels and rallied his fellow board members in demanding explanation from former POC chief Ricky Vargas about the organizing body which, according to its Articles of Incorporation filed before the Securities and Exchange Commission, aims to take away the functions of the local Olympic council.

Vargas caved in to pressure and filed his irrevocable resignation. Then, Aranas followed suit, but quickly regained his position following a victory in the special elections last 28 July.

Now, with the country's hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games is teetering on the brink of a massive disaster as POC board members refuse to sign the tripartite agreement with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and Phisgoc Foundation, Aranas reportedly worked behind the scene in putting everybody on the same page.

Sources said Aranas had been working days before the breakthrough meeting last Friday.

He reportedly sat down with the members of the POC executive board on Thursday before holding a breakfast meeting with PSC chairman William "Butch" Ramirez and POC president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino on Friday to discuss how to resolve the issue and bring peace to the POC that would lead to a successful hosting of the biennial meet.

The issue was simple with a very complex resolution.

With Vargas establishing an organizing body that is way different than the one ratified by the POC executive board in 2017, the POC board members were firm in stating that they won't sign on the memorandum of agreement with the new body — Phisgoc Foundation — and the PSC.

Why?

Well, POC board members said the first provision was quite unfair. It states that the POC would stand as a guarantor to all the financial obligations of Phisgoc Foundation to the government.

Wow! How can the POC serve as a guarantor to a body that it doesn't recognize in the first place? We have to understand that the SEA Games has a massive budget of P6.5 billion and losing just P50 million already constitute to plunder, a serious offense that has no bail.

In this case, accountability is badly needed.

But the POC's signature in the tripartite agreement was necessary.

It was the primary requirement of the Commission on Audit before the Department of Budget and Management and the PSC could formally release the bulk of the SEA Games budget, which would be used for major expenses like the construction of facilities, transportation, parade and competition uniform, hotel accommodation and other necessities.

Also, time is running out and the organizers — well, the Phisgoc Foundation — claimed that they couldn't move because funding has yet to be completely released.

Enter Aranas.

Aranas sat down with Ramirez and Tolentino to explain the position of the POC board members.

His negotiating skills were at an elite level, prompting Tolentino and Ramirez to agree for the removal of the POC as the guarantor in the amended version of the tripartite agreement.

After all, major safeguards were kept in place with the creation of a monitoring team from the PSC, the Office of Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go.

### The issue was simple with a very complex resolution.

The team would report on a weekly basis and make sure that not a single peso from the massive budget would land on wrong hand.

In return, the POC board would approve almost all appointments made by Tolentino, including the installation of Vargas as immediate past president despite the fact that he didn't finish his term.

The lone casualty, meanwhile, was the appointment of Patrick Gregorio as POC secretary general after the executive council found out that he is not a POC member as he is neither the president nor secretary general of the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines.

Lawyer Edwin Gastanes of football was tapped as POC secretary general, instead.

Anyway, Tolentino agreed to Aranas' condition and even vowed to open Phisgoc Foundation's financial statement, including monies coming from the private sector, for transparency and accountability.

The tripartite agreement will be signed on Wednesday, formally sealing what is obviously the biggest breakthrough in Philippine sports.

"Unity was finally achieved. We were now all on the same page. It was an answered prayer," Tolentino said following the board meeting that completely shattered the barriers that were standing between Phisgoc and the POC board.

Now that unity has been achieved, Aranas can now slowly shy away from the limelight and help Philippine sports in his own quiet way.

He already delivered the clutch basket, it's now up to his teammates — the POC, the Phisgoc Foundation and the PSC — to win the game by coming with a successful SEA Games hosting that is free from corruption and other irregularities.