Philippine Aquatics Incorporated is the

national governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...

of aquatic sports in the

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 ...

. It oversees swimming,

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

, and

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

. The organization is accredited by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) since October 2023. Previously Philippine Swimming Inc. (PSI) was the national governing body. PSI was formerly accredited by

World Aquatics FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

until December 22, 2022, when the international swimming body revoked its recognition.

History

As Philippine Swimming Inc.

Philippine Swimming Incorporated (PSI) was formerly known as the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association (PASA). Around the early 2000s, PASA was led by president Monchito Ilagan who was elected in 2002. In 2004, a leadership crisis arose after Mark Joseph claimed the presidency in an election.

Joseph era

The Philippine Olympic Committee affirmed the installation of Joseph as PASA president in 2005 as a result of an alleged agreement between him and Ilagan. This includes the holding of an election within 90 days. Election was claimed to have occurred in 2005 or 2006. PASA achieved feats under Joseph, qualifying five swimmers for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. In the

2007 Southeast Asian Games The 2007 Southeast Asian Games ( th, กีฬาแห่งเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ 2007, Kila haeng echiye tawan oak chiyeng tai 2007), officially known as the 24th Southeast Asian Games, was a South ...

the country won eight gold medals. However Joseph's administration also had further controversies. The federation often came into conflict with the Philippine Swimming League (PSL) of

Nikki Coseteng Anna Dominique "Nikki" Marquez-Lim Coseteng (born December 18, 1952) is a Filipina politician who served as a senator from 1992 to 2001, and as representative of Quezon City's 3rd district from 1987 to 1992. Early life Coseteng was born on Dece ...

and Susan Papa and Joseph faced graft allegations involving the disbursement of government funds. Joseph would head abroad over health concerns, with his secretary general Lani Velasco taking over as Officer in Charge. She would get elected as president after an election sanctioned by the Philippine Olympic Committee in February 2018.

Velasco era

Under Velasco, swimmers from rival group PSL, were able to take part in the PSI sanctioned 2019 PSI Grand Prix. The Philippines would end its gold medal drought at the Southeast Asian Games since

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, with a medal by James Deiparine in the 2019 edition hosted at home. Velasco would win a new four-year term in April 2022.

Revocation of PSI's recognition

On December 3, 2022, the FINA revoked its recognition of the membership board of the PSI, and instituted a stabilization committee in its place after accruing several complaints over its governance. On December 15, FINA, now known as World Aquatics, withdrew recognition of the PSI itself. The stabilization committee is set to recommend a new federation to replace the PSI.

=Transition team

= On June 8, 2023, a new set of officials were elected for the PSI, with Michael Vargas as transitional president. The original officials would protest against the election which they view as a violation of the organization's amended by-laws.

would recognize the results of the election.

Formation of Philippine Aquatics

Philippine Aquatics was formed PSI's place which was recognized as a member of the Philippine Olympic Committee in October 2023.

Presidents

;Presidents of PSI *Monchito Ilagan (2002–2005) *Mark Joseph (2005–2018) *Lani Velasco (2018–2023) *Michael Vargas (2023) ;Presidents of Philippine Aquatics *Michael Vargas (2023–)

History

As Philippine Swimming Inc.

Joseph era

Velasco era

Revocation of PSI's recognition

=Transition team

Formation of Philippine Aquatics

Presidents

See also

Notes

References

External links