May 'agawan' ng posisyon sa Esports sa gitna ng pandemya?

ni Gerard Arce - @E-Sports | September 17, 2020

Kasunod ng opisyal na pagkaka-anunsyo sa Philippine E-Sports Organization (PESO) bilang bagong national sports association (NSA) ng Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) kamakailan, lumutang ang isa pang grupo na nagsasabi sila ang lehitimong namumuno ng Esports sa bansa.

Kinuwestiyon ni National Electronic Sports Federation of the Philippines (NESFP) President Ramon “Tats” Suzara ang pagkakadeklara sa PESO at hinimok ang national Olympic body na ikonsidera ang pagpapalit ng desisyon habang wala pang napipiling legal na organisasyon ang International Olympic Committee (IOC) na siyang tatayong naaprubahang International Federation ng Esports.

“Kindly reconsider its decision to accept as member any group claiming legitimacy as the NSA for esports. On behalf of the NESFP, I urgently seek a reconsideration of your decision to accredit the Philippine eSports Organization [PESO] as an associate member NSA for electronic sports instead of NESFP,” saad ni Suzara sa isang liham na inilabas. “This clearly does not comply with the captioned requirement under POC Membership Rules,” dagdag nito.

Idinagdag pa ni Suzara na ang International Esports Federation (IESF) na humahawak sa PESO ay hindi pa umano kinikilala ng IOC, maging hindi rin umano ito kasama sa Global Association of International Sports Federation.

Pinasinungalingan naman ito ng kampo ng PESO na nagsabing malaki ang naging ambag nila, higit na sa pagpapatakbo ng 2019 Southeast Asian Games, kung saan hindi ang NESFP ang nag-organisa nito kundi ang Philippine SEA Games Esports Union, ang grupong binubuo kasama ang NESFP at Esports National Association of the Philippines (ESNAP) na pinamumunuan ni Joebert Yu.

“ESNAP merged with PESO to create a unified NSA for Philippine esports,” wika ni Jane Basas, head ng consumer wireless business ng Smart Communications Inc. “With PESO's member organizations' combined leadership and experience from the SEA Games and their own properties and events, alongside the programs of IESF for global esports development, we are confident that the POC's conferment of associate member status will result in a remarkable change in the development and elevation of Philippine esports.”

Gayunpaman, nagpatawag pa rin ng pagkakaisa si POC head Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino sa lahat ng stakeholders ng Philippine Esports at suportahan ang PESO para magampanan nito ang tungkulin nito bilang NSA sa bansa.

“I urge the practitioners of the sport to rally around the PESO NSA, in order to forge a united and formidable front in international competitions, I congratulate the men and women behind PESO,and exhort them to continue their winning ways that their Team Sibol displayed in the last SEA Games, which they dominated,” pahayag ni Tolentino, na siya ring tumatayong pinuno ng Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines (PhilCycling).

“With the legitimacy afforded by their membership in the IESF and now in the POC, I have no doubt the Philippines can look forward to more stellar performances from esports in the near future.”