Celso "Cito" Limjuco Dayrit (December 11, 1951 – April 28, 2021) was a Filipino fencer and sports executive who served as President of the

Philippine Olympic Committee The Philippine Olympic Committee Inc. (POC) is the National Olympic Committee of the Philippines. The POC is a private, non-governmental organization composed of and serve as the mother organization of all National Sports Associations (NSAs) i ...

and the

Fencing Confederation of Asia The Asian Fencing Confederation (AFC) or Fencing Confederation of Asia (FCA) is an international body created in 1988, charged with the promotion and development of fencing in Asia. It organises the Asian Fencing Championships annually, in all le ...

Early life and education

Celso Dayrit was born on December 11, 1951, in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He learned fencing at age six and was trained by his father, Francisco Dayrit Sr. He attended the De La Salle University, obtaining a bachelor's degree in business management in 1973 and later obtained a master's degree in business administration in 1978 at La Salle Business School.

Career

Banking

Shortly after graduating from college Dayrit served managerial positions in the banking industry. He started his banking career in 1973, joining the Philippine Commercial & Industrial Bank. He also became Vice President of the BPI Credit Corporation, at the time credit cards were still being introduced in the Philippines.

Fencing career

Dayrit took up fencing as a competitive sport, partaking in various national and international competitions. He handled all three weapons in fencing; epée.

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ...

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

. He represented the Philippines in international competitions from 1979 to 1988. At the

1987 Southeast Asian Games The 1987 Southeast Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia Tenggara 1987), officially known as the 14th Southeast Asian Games, was a multi-sport event held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 9 to 20 September 1987 with 30 sports featured in the games. ...

, he won a bronze medal. Dayrit was also given the Fencer of the Year Award for Epee in 1984.

As a sports executive

Celso Dayrit led the

Philippine Fencing Association The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, the national sports association for

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

in the Philippines from 1997 to 2008. Simultaneously, he served as the President of the

(POC) from 1999 to 2004. In 2004, he made a bid for another term as POC President but withdrew his candidacy.

Peping Cojuangco José "Peping" Sumulong Cojuangco Jr. (born September 19, 1934) is a Filipino former congressman and the 9th President of the Philippine Olympic Committee from 2004 to 2018. He is a member of the influential Cojuangco political family. Early lif ...

succeeded him. He also became the President of the

in 2005, leading the continental sports body until his death in 2021. He was serving his fifth term as president of the FCA at the time of his death. The

Philippine Sports Commission The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC, ) is an agency of the Philippine government which tackles matters concerning sports in the country. The sports agency is independent from the Philippine Olympic Committee which enjoys autonomy from the go ...

, the Philippine government's body for sports, had Dayrit as its commissioner from 1993 to 1998 during the tenure of President

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

. Dayrit was largely involved in the founding of the

Philippine National Games The Philippine National Games (PNG) officially known as the POC- PSC Games is a national multi-sport tournament in the Philippines. It was created as a means to determine the possible composition of national pool athletes that will compete in int ...

which was introduced in 1994. Dayrit also has accreditation for being an International Course Director of the Olympic Solidarity Itinerant Administration School for sports leaders from the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

, being the only Filipino to have received the distinction. He also founded the Philippine Olympic Academy and the Philippine Olympians Association. He was part of the executive committee of the

International Fencing Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(FIE) from 2004 to 2020. When the Philippines hosted the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, Dayrit was chairman of the

Southeast Asian Games Federation The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

. Although he resigned from the post in October 2019, less than two months prior to the opening of the games.

Publications

Dayrit published a book entitled ''The Olympic Movement in the Philippines'' in 2003; which could serve as a reference for national sports association officials.

Honors and awards

The

Olympic Council of Asia The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. The current Acting President is Raja Randhir Singh, substituting Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah. The headquarters ...

gave him an award in 2007. He is also a recipient of the Olympic Merit Award in the 2006 which was conferred on him by the

Association of National Olympic Committees The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) is an international organization that affiliates the current 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Each year it gathers all its membe ...

. In 1999, he became the first Filipino to serve as head of the SEA Games Federation Executive Committee. The

(FIE) recognized him as a Member of Honour (MH) and he has been inducted to the FIE's Hall of Fame. The Incheon University of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

has given him an honorary doctorate degree in 2007. The

Philippine Sportswriters Association The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

conferred on Dayrit a leadership award two times and he is an inductee of the De La Salle Sports Hall of Fame.

Death

Dayrit died on April 27, 2021, due to complications arising from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

, amidst a pandemic of the disease.

Personal life

Celso Dayrit comes from a family heavily involved in the sport of

with his father Francisco Sr. who founded the Philippine Amateur Fencers Association (now

) in the 1930s and is known for being the "Father of Philippine Fencing".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dayrit, Celso Filipino sports executives and administrators 1951 births 2021 deaths Filipino male épée fencers Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines Competitors at the 1987 SEA Games SEA Games bronze medalists for the Philippines Filipino bankers De La Salle University alumni Sportspeople from Manila Filipino male foil fencers Filipino male sabre fencers