ARCHERY head Atty. Clint Aranas, who will challenge Philippine Olympic Committee President Bambol Tolentino in the POC polls set on Nov. 27, yesterday named three tried and tested sports officials on his ticket.
The three are current POC chairman Steve Hontiveros, athletics president Philip Ella Juico and rugby secretary general Ada Milby. Juico and Milby are running as first and second vice presidents, respectively, under Aranas’ banner.
“Hontiveros is a notable sports icon. He has the experience and has never been involved in any scandal. He has the experience,” Aranas said of the handball chief and former president of the World Bowling Federation and Philippine Bowling Congress, now known as the Philippine Bowling Federation.
Hontiveros is a veteran sports hand known in the world sporting community and has a strong voice in the Southeast Asian Games Federation Council.
“Juico is our first vice president. Why? He was formerly the Philippine Sports Commission chairman. He knows the operations of both the private sector and government. Look at the last SEA Games; his sport had one of the biggest hauls for the country,” he said. “It speaks of his accomplishments as a leader. He is a person who delivers. He is a good organizer.”
Track and field athletes were the second-biggest contributors to the country’s successful bid for overall championship in the 30th SEA Games with 11 gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals.
Under the watch of Juico, the country sealed its first Olympic qualifier last year in pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena.
Aranas said that Milby, a former national athlete, was actually running as an independent candidate “but we have decided to adopt her into our ticket because we share the values of transparency and accountability.
“She is a very independent and outspoken woman. She speaks her mind and not easily swayed. We have the same vision so we’re taking her in. She is a good ambassador for sports.”
Aside from being the secretary general of the Philippines Rugby Football Union, Milby is also a member of the World Rugby Council, the global governing body of the sport, and the only female on the five-man Asia Rugby Executive Committee.
A former US staff sergeant, she was recently cited by the prestigious World Rugby magazine as among the “The 50 Most Influential People in Rugby 2020.”
Aranas said he was surprised that Richard Gomez, who heads both the fencing and pentathlon associations, was running under the slate of Tolentino “because I consider him a good friend and you can quote me on that.”
