Despite the many hats that he’s wearing, Patrick “Pato” Gregorio vows to dedicate his full attention to his new role as chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
Gregorio said he will relinquish his position as president of the Philippine Rowing Association and head of the Landco Lifestyle Ventures, the group that operates the hotels inside the Camp John Hay in Baguio City, following his appointment as PSC chief over the weekend.
The appointment of the 57-year-old Gregorio came as a surprise.
In fact, he was quietly running the affairs of The Manor at Camp John Hay and Forest Lodge inside the former American military base when news of his appointment broke out.
Aside from that, he also founded a sports management firm in DuckWorld PH, which spearheaded the staging of the very successful Tour of Luzon last May.
Gregorio said he doesn’t mind giving up these roles.
“There will definitely be a new rowing president. I will also no longer be involved in DuckWorld despite starting it as I’m already proud of what we have achieved,” said Gregorio, who will delegate his tasks to some of his trusted men in his previous organizations so that he can fully focus on running the affairs of the government sports agency.
“There are other capable partners in the organization.”
True enough, in his first official day in office last Tuesday, the 57-year-old Gregorio hit the ground running by meeting his commissioners and other PSC executives shortly after a brief turnover ceremony with outgoing PSC chief Richard “Dickie” Bachmann on Tuesday.
Yesterday, the 57-year-old Gregorio formally took his oath of office before Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin with Bases Conversation and Development Authority chairman Larry Paredes as well as family members Marichele Gregorio, Martin Gregorio, Patricia Gregorio and Angela Gregorio in attendance.
Then, he had an ocular inspection of all PSC-owned facilities together with the comissioners and deputy executive director Guillermo Iroy to get an overview of what will be refurbished.
Gregorio said there will be no honeymoon period as he already knows the personalities he will be working with.
For one, he maintains a very good relationship with ranking Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) officials, headed by president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino
“We have a longtime relationship with (POC president Abraham Tolentino), we already know what to do,” Gregorio said.
“As much as possible, I do not want factions since it is not my philosophy.”