SOUTHEAST ASIAN ZONALS AND THE PHILIPPINES : THE TRUTH REVEALED

My interview with the new secretary general of PVF, Otie Camangian, appears in today's issue of Bandera. Secretary general Camangian answers the most crucial issues regarding the country's participation in the Southeast Asian zonals in Vietnam. The salient points of the interview are as follow :

1. The Southeast Asian zonals is not a mandatory event. As such, the Philippines would not be suspended from international competition even if the country did not participate in the zonals. As the PVF secretary general points out, other zonal members like Malaysia and Singapore did not participate in the zonals. Had the zonals been mandatory, these countries would have been suspended. But Malaysia and Singapore remain in good standing with AVC and FIVB despite their non-participation, proving that the Zonals in Vietnam is not mandatory. Camangian likewise points out that in the history of FIVB, never has a country been suspended from international competition because of non-participation in a particular tournament.

2. The Philippines would be sanctioned in the form of monetary fine only if it confirmed its participation only to withdraw later on. A fine ranging from 2000 dollars to 7000 dollars would be imposed on the Philippines for a withdrawal and not non-participation. The question therefore is, who confirmed the country's participation ?

3. Emails from AVC are available to back up every point.

The interview in Bandera answers more issues concerning the fiasco. What I find deplorable about the whole mess is the deception that our so-called sports leaders perpetuated. They deceived the players, coaches and fans into believing that the country would be suspended from international tournaments should the country not participate in the zonals. The players, coaches and fans were made to believe that they were saving Philippine volleyball. But in reality, the sports leaders were merely saving themselves. The sports leaders were forced to honor their commitment to AVC to spare themselves of international embarrassment and sanction that would have exposed what really happened. And all at the expense of the players, coaches and fans.