Former First Lady Amelita “Ming" Ramos was unanimously voted in absentia as president of the Philippine Badminton Association (PBA) during an election supervised by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

Ramos, who was reportedly in China on a private business, got the nod of the four other members of the Board of Trustees to lead the association back on the right track after months of leadership squabble.

Former national champion and coach Errol Chan was elected first vice president, Joey San Andres second vice president, international umpire Judith Brosula secretary and Rowena So treasurer.

The POC’s representatives, POC auditor Corrina Benipayo-Mojica and board member Leonora Brawner, reviewed and validated the list of voters and proxies before announcing a quorum to proceed with the election.

“I hope this election will end chaos in badminton," said Chan. “I expect her to accept the will of the majority so we can work together to uplift the current status of badminton," said Chan.

But the PBA election did not exactly go on hassle-free.

Club member presidents were refused entry to the badminton hall inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, which they said was suspiciously closed and guarded by security personnel of the Philippine Sports Commission. The badminton hall, which also houses the PBA office, is under the management of the PSC.

“May order po sa amin na isara ang badminton hall at huwag magpapasok kahit sino. Kahit po ang mga atleta na nakatira dito ay umalis na ho at walang tao rito. Wala naman po kaming kopya ng request para gamitin ang venue," one of the security guards said.

After consulting with the POC observers, the group decided to just conduct their election in a restaurant at the nearby Harrison Plaza mall.

“Save for the venue problem, everything run smoothly and I don’t see any form of illegality. The conduct of election was observed properly," Brawner noted.

The POC Executive Board, after evaluating the documents and position papers from the two contending group, has ordered the election in a bid to solve the crisis in the troubled association.

Source: www.gmanews.tv