MONICO PUENTEVELLA IS AN ASS

Yes, you read that right, Monico Puentevella, the country’s chef de mission in the Beijing Olympics, is an ass.

His recent remarks on dZBB rationalizing the country’s embarrassing medal shutout in the Beijing Olympics were shallow, laughable, callous, insensitive, and above all, irresponsible. But then again, what would you expect from a politician masquerading as a sports leader?

The “honorable” congressman from Negros explained to dZBB anchor Mike Enriquez that despite the medal shutout, the Games had been a success in terms of assessing the standing of the Philippines in the hierarchy of the sporting world (which, as we all found out, is at rock-bottom). He argued that the Olympics had served its stead in evaluating where our athletes are relative to the world’s elite (and as we all found out, our athletes are several notches below the elite).

This assertion is laughable. Were the debacles in Sydney and Athens––not to mention the country’s near-pedestrian showing in the Doha Asian Games–– not enough to expose the sad reality that we are so far behind the rest of the world in sports? Did we really need a third straight Olympic shutout before we can finally say that we are bottom-feeders in the sporting world? Did we really need yet another multi-million diagnostic test to assess how our athletes would do against top-level competition? Right after the Philippines brought home nothing but a big, fat, embarrassing egg from Athens, any sane Filipino would have realized then that our athletes can’t hold a candle just yet against the world’s elite.

Puentevella then lamented the lack of funds for our sports associations. Yes, it’s a fair enough point, until you consider one disturbing fact: countries poorer than the Philippines managed to win medals. When you consider that war-torn Afghanistan, nuclear-happy North Korea, and little-known Togo all managed to win medals, Puentevalla’s grievance over the lack of funds suddenly seems a little shallow. Well, actually, it is shallow. While it is true that the country’s sports program is ostensibly lacking funds, this alone should not deter the development of elite-level Filipino athletes. Yes, money is scarce, but there is money to go around, nonetheless. The challenge is to make do with what’s available. The Afghans managed to do it. So did the North Koreans and the Togolese. Why can’t we do the same? (Just a point, though––boxing and taekwondo were funded by ridiculously rich private companies, right? How many medals did they win? None.)

Near the end of the interview, Mike Enriquez pressed Mr. Puentevella to explain why the Philippines couldn’t do what its Southeast Asian neighbors––Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia––could (win medals). The great congressman from Negros then gave a response for the ages. His response was a magnum opus unlike no other, a tour-de-force so incomparable only the Phenomenal Puentevella could have thought of it. He said, in so many words, that these countries had used borderline Chinese athletes in their respective quests for Olympic glory.

Uhm…say again?

Okay, may be he was right. But last time I checked, five of our 15 Olympians were half-bred Filipino-Americans who don’t even speak Filipino: Miguel Molina, James Walsh, Christel Simms, Daniel Coakley, and Ryan Arabejo. So if our neighbors were using borderline Chinese athletes, then we were using quasi-Filipino athletes called Fil-Ams. That evens things out, doesn’t it?

Fortunately, Mike Enriquez decided to stop pressing Puentevella with more difficult questions. In doing so, the venerable newscaster saved the shameless congressman from Negros from further embarrassment. Who knows what insanely brazen remarks would have come out of Puentevella’s tactless, negligent mouth had Enriquez continued with the difficult questions.

It’s just a shame, though, because I was enjoying how Puentevella was making a bigger ass of himself on national radio. But then again, would you expect anything less?