Just when everybody thought the issue about golf leadership is over, a new development emerged to point out otherwise.

Former Pampanga representative Juan Miguel Arroyo and businessman Rodolfo Soriano Jr. asked the Pasig City Regional Trial Court to declare null and void the National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) board trustees held last 5 April.

Citing violation in the NGAP’s own constitution, Arroyo and Soriano filed the case against NGAP last 19 April. Arroyo and Soriano asked the court to declare all elective positions at NGAP vacant.

NGAP said it “would defer the resolution of the said matter to the court,” because the matter is now under litigation.

“Contrary to the allegations put out in certain news publications, NGAP maintains that it complied with all the requirement for a valid election,” added the NGAP statement.

“The duly constituted Nomelec (nomination and election committee), in charge of the all matters pertaining to the election, carried the election in accordance with the prescribed rules as established by the NGAP by-laws and by Philippine law.”

Eleven members of the NGAP board have been elected who then eventually gave businessman Martin Lorenzo a third term of office as president at the polls held at Alabang Country Club.

Arroyo was tipped to run against Lorenzo but dozens of his proxy votes were disqualified by the association’s Nomelec.

Named as respondents were Lorenzo, NGAP president; Valeriano Floro II, secretary general; Avelino Sumagui, Nomelec chairman; and Marcus Antonius Andaya, Norbert Chico, Jose Gerard Asuncion and Raymond Bunquin, nomelec members.

“Clearly, because their proxies were illegally excluded, Arroyo and Soriano were not elected,” the complaint stated.

NGAP’s bylaws rule that annual meetings are held at the association headquarters “or, if not practicable,” within the same city which is Pasig City. The complaint said: “The Alabang Country Club was an improper venue for holding the annual…elections.”

It also questioned the authority of the Nomelec to enforce proxy vote format which was the ground for the complainants’ proxy votes to not get counted.

NGAP also took a dig at Arroyo and Soriano saying: “Two losing candidates who failed to secure seats in the board of trustees filed a suit to annul NGAP’s elections.”