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Where I was raised, the task of identifying a decent
(prominent) man is quite easy. It is always affixed to one
name—Art Macapagal. You can’t find a more decent man, they say,
as they wonder why he is not a senator or even higher.
That he comes from an impressive
pedigree—the son of a former president and the nephew of the late
matinee idol and former Ambassador Rogelio de la Rosa—has helped
nurture the consensus that Art Macapagal is also the best leader our
place never had. Before her half-sister, the incumbent president,
plunged wholeheartedly into politics many had expected Art to be
Dadong Maca-pagal’s heir apparent.
But expectations do not often
translate into destiny. Art is still a businessman and his
half-sister is still the president.
In a political context where
cronyism is king, Art Macapagal, ever the decent man, has stayed
away from Palace intrigues and deals. Throughout the Arroyo
presidency, the tabloids and the scandal sheets, that can rival the
yellow papers of the yore in excitement and fact-twisting, cannot
raise an instance of Art Macapagal brokering deals, lobbying for
vested interests, interfering in the big and mundane affairs of
government.
The low-key brother and the
honest brother.
He runs businesses that need no
government connection, where the market—not favors and
connections—rule. He could have made a pile just by doing quiet
lobbying. By the mere act of networking, and by linking power
brokers with the powers that be, Art Macapagal could have reaped
immense wealth overnight. He could have been a powerful part of a
shadowy kitchen cabinet. But ever the decent man, Art Macapagal has
refused to succumb to temptations.
Finally, Art is running for
something, for the presidency of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).
The initial excitement in our place regarding Art’s first run was
dampened by the realization that Art Macapagal’s leadership
quest—the first campaign of his life—was aimed at leading a
sports body.
We would have preferred a
political campaign: a congress seat, a senate slot, the
governorship, something political. But it is now clear that whatever
political juices Art Macapagal had in the past have been drained
from his system.
Having laid the background, we
should now say our piece. The sports community, desperate for a real
renaissance for Philippine sports, should elect Art Macapa-gal as
head of the POC.
Art Macapagal is not some
Johnny-come-lately to Philippine sports, with a POC run as an
afterthought. He is not some power-seeking, glory-seeking
half-brother to the president. He has been into sports all his life,
with an Olympic participation (shooting) as part of his sports
resume.
Who can better run the POC than
one who had competed in Olympics, knows business and management,
knows finance and does not assume and does not possess—despite his
pedigree—a sense of entitlement?
The connections will not hurt,
though we greatly doubt that Art Macapagal will ever tap into that
political connection.
The deliberative,
consensus-building style of Art will also make sure that all points
of views are heard, all opinions listened to. This will be healthy
for Philippine sports, which has been hurt by the plague/curse of
oversized egos.
Through the years, the feckless
leadership of Philippine sports has reaped nothing but a tsunami of
embarrassing defeats. Olympic quests often turn out into pursuits of
the chaff. Those hollow, meaningless rewards of “ breaking
national records.”
I have to quote George W. again
to describe the small aims of our sports leadership: the soft
bigotry of low expectations.
We should have grand Olympic
dreams. We should have big aims. Small aims are for small people.
We should go for the Olympic gold
and the sports associations’ heads should weigh their leadership
vote in gold.
That is Art Macapagal, who can
save Philippine sports.
mvrong@yahoo.com
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