MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Sports Commission chair Harry Angping will not be joining the RP team in next month’s SEA Games in Laos nor will he send a support staff to the biennial meet, saying they were not given the courtesy of an invitation by the Philippine Olympic Committee.

“I’m not sure if I will still go there since I’m not in the list and unwelcomed. I think they got it under control,” said Angping, whose rift with the POC on policies and priorities continued to hamper the country’s preparations for the biennial meet set Dec. 9 to 18.

In fact, POC president 2005 Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee chairman Jose Cojuangco Jr. filed a P10 million libel rap and other charges against Angping and several others before the Makati Regional Trial Court yesterday.

The civil action for tort and damages, filed by Cojuangco’s legal counsel Vicente Chuidian, stemmed from the alleged unlawful demand by the respondents for refund within seven days of the amount of P73,243,524.86 covering expenses in the 2005 Manila Southeast Asian Games disallowed by the COA. Failure to comply, the PSC demand warned, would result in the filing of criminal and civil charges against the Philsoc.

Also named in the charged sheet were a PSC commissioner, an officer of the Commission on Audit and several others.

Cojuangco also accused Angping of violating the amended Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, coercion or grave threats under Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code, violation of the Omnibus Rules Implementing Executive Order No. 292 and COA Memorandum No. 7648, and violation of Section 144 of the Corporation Code.

Cojuangco also said the PSC move could be politically motivated since it might disrupt the POC chief’s plan to help in the campaign of his nephew Sen. Noynoy Aquino, who is running for the presidency next year.

The complaint likewise alleged that the defendants, “conspired with one another, they have contrived and colluded with all and with one another in the unlawful acts herein previously described with the intention of harassing, disturbing and bothering the plaintiffs for defendant’s unlawful ends.”

As this developed, Angping announced the composition of the 200-man RP delegation, composed of 153 athletes and 47 coaches and officials, which the PSC will be funding for the SEA Games.

Aquatics leads the roster with 24 athletes – 13 in water polo, six in swimming and five in diving – while taekwondo comes next with 16 followed by sepak takraw and billiards and snooker, which are sending 15 apiece.

Angping also took notice of the strong performance of the other Southeast Asian countries in the recently concluded Asian Indoor Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The Philippines finished only eighth out of the nine SEA nations that competed based on the overall medal standing.

 “If this is any indication, we might finish last in the Laos SEA Games,” he said.

Angping was referring to strong efforts by host Vietnam and Thailand, which pocketed 42 and 19 gold medals, respectively. Indonesia snared six golds.

This year’s SEAG host Laos even finished ahead of RP with three golds, along with traditional regional power Malaysia.

Singapore and Cambodia snared a gold medal apiece like RP although the first two had more silver and bronze medals.

The Filipinos finished with one gold, four silver and five bronze medals, besting only tiny but oil-rich Brunei, which has a 0-1-6 (gold-silver-bronze) medal tally.

“What I fear most is that Laos and Cambodia will catch up on us in international tournaments, and it happened in the Asian Indoor Games,” Angping said.