SENATOR TRILLANES AND PEPING COUANGCO : THE BATTLE ROYALE

In an unprecedented move, Sen. Trillanes filed a case before the Office of the Ombudsman against Peping Cojuangco, among others. The case finally sets the two personalities on an explosive head-on collision.

Sen. Trillanes was elected president of TATAP in 2011. But the absence of a POC representative during the election put a question on its validity. Worse, POC recognized another group as the duly-elected officers of TATAP. Sen. Trillanes and his group filed a case in a regional trial court to stop the other group from presenting itself as the legitimate officers of TATAP. To this day, the case is yet to be decided.

With Sen. Trillanes not recognized by POC as TATAP president, he cannot run against Peping Cojuangco for the position of POC president. The much-awaited electoral battle between Sen. Trillanes and Peping Cojuangco never happened because of  this.

But there is no stopping now the volatile clash between Sen. Trillanes and POC President Couangco. Cojuangco definitely has the support of PSC and his friends from various NSA's. Sen. Trillanes has the support of the public and NSA's that have had enough of Cojuangco's maneuverings in sports. In view of the public indignation with PDAF and pork barrel, Sen. Trillanes might just pull a big upset.

CORRUPTION RAPS AGAINST POC AND PSC

The Table Tennis Association of the Philippines, through its Chairman, Jacinto Omilla Jr, charged Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Ricardo Garcia and Philippine Olympic Committee President Jose Cojuangco, Jr., among others, for violating Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

According to the complaint filed by Omilla with the Office of the Ombudsman, the PSC released funds and issued checks to the group of Ting Ledesma who have been misrepresenting themselves as the officers of TATAP. The release of funds were made despite a pending issue on the legitimate officers of TATAP which is currently the subject of a court case in the Regional Trial Court of Manila.

In a response made by PSC Chairman Garcia to an inquiry made by TATAP through its counsel, Garcia made an admission that despite his knowledge of the pending legitimacy issue between TATAP and the Ledesma group, he released funds amounting to P 2,327,465 to the Ledesma group. Omilla said that this action made by the PSC violates the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or RA 3019 and clearly shows manifest partiality, evident bad faith and gross inexcusable negligence.

Omilla added that having been informed of the pending case in the RTC of Manila, prudence dictates that Garcia should have refrained from entertaining the group of Ledesma. Instead, the Commission through Garcia acknowledged the group of Ledesma, worse, he released financial assistance to the group giving unwarranted private benefits.

In 2011, TATAP members voted to remove all the members of the Board due to lost of confidence and subsequently elected new set of Board of Trustees and officers. Despite the said election, certain personalities in the person of Ting Ledesma, Fauzia Anne Andanar, and Arnel Berroya have misrepresented themselves as the newly-elected officers of TATAP. In 2012, the Philippine Olympic Committee, headed by Jose Cojuangco, Jr., recognized Ledesma's group after a purported election held in the same year.

Among the respondents in the case filed by TATAP are: Jose Cojuangco Jr., Ricardo Garcia, Salvador Andrada, Gillian Akiko Guevarra, Wigberto Clavecilla Jr., Ting Ledesma, Annie Andanar, Domingo Panlilio, Arnel Berroya, and Ma. Theresa Diniega.

Senator Antonio "Sonny" F. Trillanes IV is the current president of TATAP which filed the said corruption case. # 

MORE OBSCENITIES ON PCKF AND DRAGON BOAT ATHLETES AND COACHES PART 3

As shown in a previous post, the running total of unaccounted funds for the Philippine dragon boat team's Milan trip is Php675,018.75.

 I will now examine if there is a discrepancy with the airfare of the whole delegation.

As per Resolution No. 439(C)-2012, the budget for airfare the Philippine delegation is Php1,358,370.00. The budget covers the airfare of 26 persons via Cathay Pacific. The airfare, in dollars, per person comes out at $1,215.00. The price of the ticket to Milan is quite reasonable.

But as per Resolution No. 545-2012, an additional amount of Php376,766.00 was given to PCKF to cover the deficit in airfare. Now, where did the deficit come from ? Did the athletes not even give up some of their allowances to cover all the airfares of the people in the trip ? And why did PSC give an amount that will not enable the athletes and coaches return to Manila ?

Hence, the additional amount of Php376.766.00 as requested by PCKF needs some explanation.

The running total of the unaccounted funds for the PCKF trip to Milan is now Php1,051,784.75.

I have been communicating with PCKF President Jonne Go to ask for explanations. But she refuses to answer my calls, texts and email.

MORE OBSCENITY IN THE CONFLICT BETWEEN PCKF AND DRAGON BOAT ATHLETES AND COACHES

As shown in a previous post, based on the athletes' rejoinder and Resolution No. 439(C)-2012, a total amount of Php267,718.75 from the athletes' allowances remain unaccounted for.

Now, I will examine the unaccounted amount, if any, from other training requirements.

According to PSC Resolution No. 439(C)-2012, the approved budget for other training requirements are as follows :

Whey Protein   - Php3,000/pack x 18 packs               - Php54,000.00
Mass Protein    - Php3,500/pack x 12 packs               - Php42,000.00
Creatine            - Php2,400/bottle x 15 bottles            - Php36,000.00
Multi-vitamins   - Php1,250/nottle x 14 bottles             - Php17,000.00
Meal Allowance- Php300/day x 26 persons x 54 days - Php421,200.00

                                                                      TOTAL - Php570,700.00

According to the rejoinder of the athletes, they only received the following :

Whey Protein  - Php3,000/pack x 2 packs                  - Php6,000.00
Creatine          - Php2,400/bottle x 5 bottles                - Php12,000.00
Multi-vitamins  - Php1,250/bottle x 4 bottles                - Php5,000.00
Meal Allowance - Php200/day x 27 days x 26 persons - Php140,400.00

                                                                     TOTAL - Php163,400.00

Hence from other training requirements, there is an amount of Php407,300.00 ( Php570,700.00 - Php163,400.00 ) that is unaccounted for.

Together with the previous athletes' allowances that remain unaccounted for ( Php267,718.75 ), the total amount unaccounted for is Php407,300.00 + Php267,718.75, which is equal to Php675,018.75 so far.

In my next post, I will continue the investigation, taking into account the amounts allotted for airfare and hotel accommodation.

THE OBSCENITY OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN PCKF AND ATHLETES AND COACHES PART 2

From the rejoinder submitted by the terminated athletes and coaches of the PCKF dragon boat teams, I was able to calculate the amount of allowances that remains unaccounted for during the World Championship in Milan. The amount comes out as PhP267,718.75.

In the same rejoinder, I found the responses of PCKF President Jonne Go and canoe-kayak head coach Len Escollante. Ms. Go simply counters that the allowances are "subject to the discretion of the PCKF management how the budget provided by the PSC is to be spent ". Coach Len, on the other hand, says that the terminated athletes and coaches " are consumed by deception and trickery ", " hardcore liars ", " grossly insensitive ", "disrespectful of authorities ", " do not know the boundaries of their function " and " have a distorted mentality of their roles ".

It is very interesting and telling that Go and Escollante do not deny that they received a total amount of PhP499,200.00 from PSC. In fact, Ms. Go's statement that it is up to the PCKF on how the funds are to be spent is an admission that there was a discrepancy with what was approved and what the athletes and coaches received . The statement of Go offers merely a justification of what the athletes and coaches received. Nowhere in the rejoinder do Go and Escollante deny that the athletes and coaches only got PhP231,481.25 instead of the PSC-approved amount of Php499,200.00.

Thus the question remains. Where is the missing amount of Php267,718.75 ?

THE OBSCENITY IN THE CONFLICT BETWEEN PCKF AND THE DRAGON BOAT TEAMS

courtesy of interaksyon.com

From a rejoinder filed by the Philippine Canoe Kayak Federation dragon boat teams before the Philippine Olympic Committee Special Arbitration, the amount of money being denied to the athletes and their coaches can be calculated.

Let us take for example the 2012 World Dragon Boat Championship that was held in Milan, Italy. According to PSC Resolution No. 439, the athletes and their two coaches will receive $480.00 each for the competition. At an exchange rate of PHP40.00 to $1.00 and with 26 athletes and coaches all in all, the total amount of participation allowance comes out as $12,480.00 or PHP499,200.00.

But according to the statements of the athletes and coaches, only PHP9,259.25 were given to each of the 25 participants. Only 25 participants were given the participation allowance as the PCKF president insisted that Coach Laureno was not approved by the PSC to go to Milan. With 25 people being given PHP9,259.25 each, the total amount of participation allowance that was actually given only amounts to PHP231,481.25.

Comparing the total amount of participation allowance approved by PSC with the total amount of participation allowance that was given, there is a discrepancy of PHP267,718.75.

The big question is where did the PHP267,718.75 go ?

Note that the unaccounted amount of PHP267,718.75 is even bigger than the PHP231,481.25 that the athletes and coaches got as participation allowance. Meaning, that whoever got the missing and unaccounted funds got more than what the whole team got. Such is the obscenity of the whole thing.

Note too that what we have examined is only limited to the participation allowance of the athletes and coaches. We have not examined the amounts that could be missing from the funds allotted for the airfare and hotel accommodations of the athletes and their coaches.

The brazen and obscene corruption from this simple example is truly a crime not only against the athletes and their coaches but against the entire Filipino people as well.

THE TRUTH REVEALED : THE CONFLICT BETWEEN PCKF AND PHILIPPINE DRAGON BOAT TEAMS

To reduce the conflict between the leaders of PCKF and the national dragon boat teams as a simple case of athletes wanting to go to the Southeast Asian Games is to miss the entire point. Truth of the matter is, corruption in sports is the issue. Below is the letter that was sent to a senator by the Philippine paddlers and their coaches.

Dear Senator:

We, the coaches and athletes of the National Dragon Boat Team, humbly request for intervention from your good office regarding our current situation with our umbrella organization, the Philippine Canoe and Kayak Federation (PCKF).

On July 12, 2013, we wrote a letter addressed to both the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) requesting for an investigation of two (2) of the officials of PCKF Acting President Ms. Jonne Go and Head Coach Ms. Leonora Escollante on allegations of unethical conduct and questionable disbursement of funds.

The immediate action taken by Ms. Go is to unduly terminate the twenty-five (25) athletes and three (3) coaches, representing 95% of the National Pool, who filed the complaint. Consequently, we were put on floating status pending the resolution of the complaint. Likewise, we have been verbally informed by POC that all trainings have to be discontinued and were denied access to the dragon boats situated at the CCP’s dock site. Worse, our South East Asian Games (SEA Games) berth has been revoked and our allowances and benefits, from which we derive our meager income, were put on hold pending the final determination of the case by the POC Arbitration Committee.

Thus, we appeal for your intervention and assistance regarding our case before the said Arbitration Committee. We have already sent letters to the Philippine Sports Commission and the Arbitration Committee of the POC requesting for provisional reliefs and immediate disposition of the case based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds but our request fell on deaf ears.

The POC and PCKF may have the right and power to determine its organization and membership.However, we feel that it is unjust for us to be stripped of our basic benefits and our well-deserved opportunity to represent the country in the SEA Games, just because we chose to bring to light the anomalies that we have experienced at the hands of our officials – the supposed stewards of our Sport.

We followed strict protocol, stretched our forbearance and good faith in our sports governing bodies, even as three (3) months have passed without rendering a proper investigation and resolution. We appeal to you and the government for relief in our trying situation.

Please find attached Complainant’s Rejoinder detailing the case. Upon your instruction, we will also send your office the originating Petition and Position Paper, Answers of the Respondents and other Letters that we sent to POC and PSC.

Thank you in advance for your attention in this matter.

Respectfully yours,

MANUEL F. MAYA                                           ARNOLD P. LAURENO
Men's Team Head Coach                              Women's Team Head Coach

CAGAYAN VALLEY AS TRUE CHAMPION

Cagayan Valley beat Smart-Maynilad, 2-0, in the best of three championship series of Shakey's V-League Open Conference to win its first-ever title in the tournament.

I have always been vocal in supporting Cagayan Valley for the simple reason that the people behind the team are selfless. While other teams have been selfish in lending their players to the national team, Cagayan willingly loaned ten of its players, including its head coach. With the gesture, Cagayan defined itself as having a higher purpose than winning the Shakey's V-League title. The gesture likewise showed the purposeful heart of the team. While other teams were simply hell-bent to win honor for their respective companies and institutions, Cagayan was more concerned of winning honor for the country.

Clearly, the experience that the Cagayan players gained from playing in the Asian Senior Women's Championship served Cagayan well. The team was greatly rewarded as the players gained confidence and maturity after playing against China and other Asian countries. Other teams simply failed to realize the advantage that could be gained from international competition.

What I find truly amusing is the fact that no less than Cagayan team manager, Dang Antonio-Pua, was willing to lose the title. She willingly released her players to the national team to allow them to have the rare opportunity of becoming national players. She knew how beneficial it would be for her players to play for the national team to the extent that she was willing to lose in the current tournament. Yet, Cagayan ended as champion nonetheless. It only goes to show that good things happen to those who do good.

Well done indeed, Cagayan.

QUESTIONS REGARDING A WELL-KEPT SECRET

Something is just not right with a well-kept secret involving female athletes. First, why did the female athletes clam up instead of making noise about the incident ? The female athletes were extremely popular at that time and could have easily gained public sympathy  had they filed a complaint. Second, why did the athletes decide to shy away from the national team after the incident ? With their decision, they only deprived themselves of the opportunity to further represent the country in international tournaments. Lastly, why was the incident documented only after a year it happened ? Was the incident being used by certain individuals to further their cause and not mainly to render justice to the female athletes ?

Could it be that the public is missing out on an important and crucial detail about the incident ? Could it be that the incident could be more damaging to the athletes than the perpetrators ?

CAGAYAN VALLEY OR SMART-MAYNILAD : WHICH IS THE BETTER CHOICE ?

Cagayan Valley Lady Rising Suns and Smart-Maynilad are in the finals of the current conference of Shakey's V-League. Cagayan is up, 1-0, in the best of three  championship series.

It certainly surprises me no end that between a team that has loaned its players to the national team and a team which has players that turned down the offer to play for the national team, some fans still choose to go for the team whose players refused to serve the country. Cagayan Valley has loaned  ten of its players, including its head coach, to the national team during the recently-concluded Asian Senior Women's Championship. It should be pretty obvious who people should cheer for. Sadly, there are a lot of fantards who are just so starstruck with their idols that they can't seem to make the right choice.

While I do admit that the fantards have the right to choose which team to cheer for, common sense dictates that premium must be placed on the team that has served the country more. And Cagayan Valley is definitely the team which has been selfless in putting the country in the international volleyball scene once again. Truly, Cagayan Valley is the better choice.

ON BEING A NATIONAL ATHLETE

I have always been so critical of the Azkals. I have always criticized the team for its poor performance in various international tournaments despite the financial resources of the team. And I have always been most vocal with the Azkals' off-the-pitch behavior. Certainly, being linked to rape and sexual harassment allegations are behavior not befitting national athletes.

Being a national athlete carries a big responsibility.. A national athlete is not only expected to do well in competitions. But a national athlete is also expected to be a role model for the youth.

So even in the most unguarded and vulnerable moments, a national athlete must be smart enough to know his or her limit. He or she must not do something that will damage his or her reputation forever. No amount of provocation must make a national athlete do something that he or she may regret later on.  No amount of money must make a national athlete compromise his or her values. A national athlete must be made of sterner stuff. A national athlete loses his or her identity and puts on the identity of the people that he or she represents. He or she must always and forever be thinking of representing the country the best possible way.

A WELL-KEPT SECRET

A 2011 incident involving female athletes remains a well-kept secret to this day.

According to reliable sources, it all started when the female athletes attended a team building seminar in a nearby province together with their coaches and team officials. In one of the sessions, alcoholic beverages were served. As the night progressed, people inevitably got tipsy or outright drunk. Sensing that the female athletes were losing their inhibitions, a team official dared the athletes to striptease. The team official even offered money in exchange for the striptease.

One source revealed that not one of the female athletes called the dare. But the athletes were so taken aback by the incident that they all locked themselves in their rooms for the rest of the team-building days.The female athletes were so shocked and embarassed by the incident that they were never the same again. The team eventually lost all its games in an international tournament. The athletes too never dared to become national athletes again after the incident.

The incident did not reach mainstream media as team officials, coaches and players decided to pretend as if the incident never happened. The coaches and team officials that were a part of the incident remain very much around. The players continue to play in local tournaments.

The great challenge now for the female athletes is to have the courage to talk about the incident to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

NOW OFFICIAL : POWER PINAYS WILL MISS THE 2013 SEA GAMES

It is now official. Power Pinays will not be included among the 216 Filipino athletes who will be sent to Myanmar for the 2013 SEA Games in December.

Among other things, what served as the last chance for Power Pinays to make the SEA Games was the last letter of appeal from the Philippine Volleyball Federation. Considering that PVF failed to submit entries by number and names to the PSC-POC Task Force, the last letter of appeal should have been truly convincing to merit the attention and consideration of POC and PSC. Sadly, the letter failed to served its purpose.

In the end, what the U23 Azkals had a lot of proved to be inexistent for Power Pinays. Thus, Power Pinays will have to hone their skills elsewhere. Perhaps, in the future, Power Pinays will be deemed worthy to represent the country in just about every international tournament. I truly hope to see the day when the team will not have to rely on letters of appeal just to compete in tournaments abroad.

WILL THE POWER PINAYS GO TO THE 2013 SEA GAMES ?

courtesy of rappler.com

October 10, 2013 will be a crucial day for the Philippine women's volleyball team. On that day, POC will decide, with finality, whether the team will go to the Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar this December.

It is truly unfortunate that a PVF leadership crisis happened during the submission of entry by number to the SEAG Task Force. As a result, PVF was not able to submit an entry by number to the task force. Consequently, PVF was not able to submit an entry by number as well. Without the entries by number and names, the Power Pinays, technically, cannot be sent to the regional tournament.

But PSC and POC officials, as well as the task force personnel, gave a favor to the Power Pinays by setting an 8th place finish or higher in the Asian Senoir Women's Championship as criterion for inclusion to the SEA Games. While the Power Pinays, exceeded expectations with their 12th place finish in the tournament, the criterion was not met.

PVF officials Oti Camangian and Dr. Ian Laurel have been  busy the past few weeks talking to several personalities on how Power Pinays can make it to the SEA Games. The two have, in fact, submitted two letters of appeals to the proper authorities to exhaust all possible means to have the Power Pinays included in the Philippine delegation.

As things stand now, it is all up to the POC to decide the fate of the Power Pinays. Perhaps, volleyball fans can do their share in helping the Power Pinays make the SEAG by voicing their collective desire to have the team sent to Myanmar. Now is the right time to make noise for the Power Pinays.