Tolentino reelected as PhilCycling president
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter
ABRAHAM “Bambol” Tolentino stays as Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines (PhilCycling) president after being reelected on Tuesday.
Mr. Tolentino, who also got a fresh term as Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president in November, retained his PhilCycling post along with Alberto Lina (chairman) and Oscar “Boying” Rodriguez (vice-president).
Alejandro Vidallo and Engr. Greg Monreal, meanwhile, are the new treasurer and auditor, respectively, of the federation.
Reelected as members of the board were Jun Lomibao, Juancho Ramores, Paquito Rivas, Moe Chulani, Carlos Gredonia, Atty. Marcus Andaya and Jojo Villa, with Sunshine Joy Mendoza, the country’s first female national road commissaire, elected as a new member of the board along with Erwin Bollozos. Atty. Billy Sumagui was reappointed secretary-general.
Given the nod once again to lead PhilCycling, Mr. Tolentino, also a sitting congressman representing the eighth district of Cavite, shared that he would push for the staging of national championships for road, mountain bike and BMX in 2021 with or without a vaccine against the coronavirus but will observe proper health and safety protocols.
“I am looking at Clark or Subic for the national championships for road and Tagaytay City for BMX and mountain bike,” said Mr. Tolentino, adding they are eyeing a bubble setup similar to that staged by the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), where participants were holed up in a controlled environment to guard against the spread of the coronavirus for the duration of the tournament.
“If the PBA did it in Clark, we could do the same in the same venue, in Subic and Tagaytay.”
The PhilCycling president also threw his support for the merger between the country’s top two road race organizers — Air21/UBE Media, Inc. (Le Tour de Filipinas) and LBC (Ronda Pilipinas), and shared that another priority for him next year are the Tokyo Olympics, 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam and the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, where BMX will be played.
The PhilCycling elections were held at the East Ocean Palace restaurant in Pasay City with POC membership chairman Bones Floro heading the elections committee.
The proceedings were held under strict health protocols that had everyone undergoing antigen swab tests.
