MANILA, 8 February — Former Asia’s sprint queen Lydia De Vega-Mercado is being considered as the top choice for a seat in the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) as commissioner.
Will she accept the juicy yet taxing PSC post?
"It’s an honor, a very big honor really," said the 36-year-old De Vega-Mercado who is one of the country’s best sprinters, if not the best, of all time who dominated the Asian track in the 80s.
"In my heart, I want to serve Philippine sports, which has been very good to me during the two decades that I was a runner," said De Vega-Mercado who reaped honors for the country in the 1980s and ’90s. "I know that I can do something for sports, and that in my own little way I can be of help especially to the national athletes. I was born in sports and it will always be my first love."
"But there’s a problem," said the mother of two who is fondly called "Diay" by his peers.
So what’s the hitch then?
She said she’s facing a dilemma on whether to give up her position as councilor of Meycauayan — her hometown — in Bulacan, north of Manila, and her possible appointment as PSC commissioner. "I must admit that it would be very hard for me to give up the municipal council because I’m an elected official," she explained. So, she’s torn between two lovers, huh?
In the event the position is officially offered to him by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, De Vega-Mercado would have to make a choice between staying on as councilor of her hometown or be a commissioner at the controversy-rocked sports agency.
At this point, she prefers to stay on as member of her native town’s council where she is the No. 1 councilor.
Under civil service laws, one can’t hold an elective position and at the same time be a government appointee and that may bar her appointment.
The President confirmed last week she’s for the former Asian sprint queen.
"She (De Vega-Mercado) is one of those I’m considering. There are a number of aspirants, but I do want to put some of the former athletes there so they can share their experience on how they think they should be taken care of. They know the needs of their fellow athletes and that’s the most import thing," Arroyo said.
Although no one from Malacanang has called her, De Vega-Mercado said she’s flattered that she is being considered by President Arroyo as a member of the PSC.
Still, De Vega-Mercado said she was playing a "wait-and-see game" over her appointment as PSC commissioner, saying: "When that comes my way, then I really have to sit down with my family and discuss what’s best for everybody."
One thing that could encourage her to accept a PSC job is the golden opportunity to serve the great majority, pointing out that she could be "serving not only Meycauayan but the rest of the Philippines as well".
"I have gained a little amount of respect in the field of sports and I think my humble contributions can be useful when I try to fight for Philippine sports," she said. "People can be very helpful when they know that you are sincere in what you do."
De Vega-Mercado is hailed as an outstanding public servant of Meycauayan and believed to be a potential mayor in the next elections. Like newly-appointed PSC Chairman Eric Buhain, De Vega-Mercado took to the streets to fight for the rights of athletes during a popular revolt that led to the ouster of then PSC boss Aparicio Mequi and three commissioners in 1993.
Just recently, Buhain has been named to the top PSC post making him the agency’s youngest chairman at 32, and sixth overall since its establishment in 1990 after Cecil Hechanova, Aparicio Mequi, Mel Lopez, Philip Ella Juico and Tuason. Buhain, the most bemedalled swimmer in Philippine sports history, also threw his support to De Vega-Mercado’s appointment, saying: "I know her not just as an athlete but as a person. I know she can help and do a lot for Philippine sports."
"That (De Vega-Mercado’s appointment) is up to the President," Buhain explained. "I know she’s a councilor so she has to organize her priorities if she’s appointed."
Both Buhain and De Vega-Mercado are members of a fraternity called Crux Ansata, made up of 1991 Southeast Asian Games gold medallists and formed by former PSC commissioner Anthony Nicanor. Buhain, who calls De Vega-Mercado "sis", said the former track star is "a good person."
With an impending revamp looming at the PSC after the resignation of Carlos Tuason as chairman recently, a mad scramble has developed for the PSC position as commissioners.
Aside from De Vega-Mercado, names floating around as among the Palace’s top choices include former top bowler Bong Coo, Muslim sports educator Punduma Sani, Makati sportsman-businessman Nemesio "King" Yabut and Bacolod’s Mario Villanueva, brother of Games and Amusements Board chairman Eduardo Villanueva. The Palace is expected to announce replacements for three commissioners — Ricardo Garcia, Amparo Lim and William Ramirez — soon.
Cynthia Carrion, a close friend of the President, is reportedly staying put.
There are efforts to ask the Palace to retain Ramirez. Buhain had earlier expressed his desire to retain William Ramirez, currently one of the carryover commissioners, as member of the board. Ramirez’s retention all of a sudden cropped up after receiving recommendation from Buhain and Carrion.
PSC employees and staff, particularly at the rank and file, and activist athletes and coaches have also aired their support for the retention of Ramirez.
Buhain and Carrion are also for Sani, thus putting weight on the chances of the Muslim sports educator.
Besides, Carrion hinted the Palace is bent at intensifying Mindanaoans’ participation in government, particularly the Muslims.
Ramirez has resigned but continues to carry out his job both as a commissioner and executive director. Malacanang has yet to react on his resignation.
Lim and Garcia are keeping fort and said they would only resign if told so by Malacanang.
But Carrion, the only commissioner named so far by President Arroyo, confirmed a growing unrest among PSC employees and staff in case Garcia and Lim are retained.
She confirmed the 250-strong PSC employees union has started circulating a manifesto calling for a total revamp of the PSC board.
The union showed its support for Buhain’s appointment, but it stressed the former swimming star should be accorded a totally fresh start with a major overhaul of the PSC top positions.
A separate petition by the PSC rank and file was also prepared, but it sought the Malacanang’s consideration on Ramirez, who resigned a day after Tuason officially announced his resignation.
Actually, Carrion is being tasked by Malacanang to help its Search Committee in churning out potential commissioners. She revealed there are 61 "applicants," but she said the president preferred a short list.
She said Buhain would also have a hand in the selection of his three commissioners. Malacanang did not set any deadline for the replacements since, according to Carrion, consultations are ongoing on how to balance the PSC board.
"Applicants" who possess legal minds and clout both in the public and private sectors and have roots in sports and academe have an advantage.
There are also reports that a blind man may fill in one of the three slots for commissioners.
President Arroyo is reportedly intent on naming blind sports-activist Mike Barredo, president of the Philippine Sports Association of the differently-abled (Philspada) in a bid to finally fulfill his wish for equal government treatment of athletes.
A Palace source said the President is expected to include Barredo among her choices to balance the agency and give the differently-abled athletes a voice in the PSC.
The choice of Barredo could favor Malacanang and the PSC since Republic Act 6847, the law that created the PSC, underlines the need to cater to the handicapped, or the differently abled.
The Palace is believed to be pulling off a balancing act of sorts in the PSC by naming officials who are either former top athletes or whose names are neither political nor embroiled in business.
Barredo has been actively campaigning for the Philippines’ regular inclusion in the Paralympic Games, where one of his athletes, powerlifter Arlene Dumapong, won the Philippines’ only Olympic medal in Australia in 2000 with a bronze.
