By Jerome S. Galunan, Jr.

Amid the call for the mass resignation of national sports association heads, Philippine Weightlifting Association (PWA) President Monico Puentevella yesterday said he would resign if every other association chief steps down.
“We will discuss this in the [Philippine Olympic Committee (POC)] general assembly,” he said, which is currently taking place at the Century Park Hotel in Manila. “Though I have my doubt if this will be done soon, other officials may not agree.”
Gymnastics Association of the Philippines President Cynthia Carrion recently announced her willingness to resign if the assembly calls for new elections.
Earlier, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) passed a board resolution supporting the campaign against corruption in sports, along with demanding the POC return the P27 million in financial assistance provided for the hosting of the 2005 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
Back in June, the Office of the Ombudsman, in a joint resolution, ordered the filing of graft charges against Puentevella after finding probable cause in relation to the P50.5 million Bacolod Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (BASOC) fund used in hosting the said games.
At the time, Puentevella was serving as Bacolod lone district representative./WDJ