Ricky Vargas has been appointed as chef de mission for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, while Al Panlilio will handle the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, as the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) made key appointments during its first General Assembly of the year on Wednesday.
POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino also announced that Rep. Richard Gomez will serve as chef de mission for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Dr. Jose Raul Canlas will oversee the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand, and Stephen Arapoc will handle the Chengdu 2025 World Games.
“The objective is to prepare our teams—and athletes—in earnest for the international competitions; that’s why the chefs de mission were appointed,” Tolentino said. “If we prepare early, there will be no excuses.”
Richard Lim of karate is chef de mission to the Asian Winter Games in Harbin that starts February 7 to 14, while the chef de mission has yet to be named for the Third Asian Youth Olympics Games from October 22 to 31 in Bahrain.
Vargas is a former POC president and currently chairman of the boxing federation; Panlilio (basketball) and Gomez (modern pentathlon) are the incumbent first and second vice presidents, respectively, and Canlas (surfing) is treasurer of the organization, while Arapoc heads the wushu association.
The SEA Games will be played December 9 to 20 this year in Chonburi, Songkhla, and Bangkok, and the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are set for February 6 to 22, and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are from September 19 to October 4 in 2026.
The Los Angeles Olympics are from July 14 to 30, 2028.
Former football president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta was appointed as ethics committee chairman while Atty. Daniel Hofileña, a non-POC member, will head the arbitration committee.
Tolentino said the POC General Assembly also approved the 2025 working budget of P35 million, which is P8 million less than last year’s because of the Paris Olympics preparations and participation.
Tolentino and his secretary-general, Atty. Wharton Chan also announced that the POC made a P15 million savings last year.
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