Over the years, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has been styling himself as a sportsman.
His association with Philippine sports started in 2016 when his former teacher Ramon “Tats” Suzara invited him to become the godfather of Philippine volleyball.
At that time, Cayetano was very influential. His running mate in the 2016 elections, former President Rodrigo Duterte, just occupied Malacañang and Cayetano was just waiting for the lapse of the one-year election ban before getting appointed as Foreign Affairs secretary.
A couple of years later, Cayetano’s role further expanded. With Suzara pulling the strings, he squeezed into the Philippine Olympic Committee and convinced then president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco to appoint him as chairman of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee — an ad hoc body tasked to oversee the preparation for the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
It was Cojuangco’s biggest mistake.
With Cayetano’s clout in the Duterte administration and Suzara’s smooth negotiating skills, they were able to create a new body that gained control of the billion-peso government fund used for the SEA Games. I doubt if they already have fully liquidated.
Today, Cayetano remains very much involved in sports while serving as a lawmaker while Suzara rose to become the executive vice president of the International Volleyball Federation and president of the Asian Volleyball Federation.
But last week, Cayetano’s cover as a sportsman got exposed.
The Senate was supposed to tackle House Bill No. 6639, which seeks to grant Filipino citizenship to former National Basketball Association player Bennie Boatwright, for the third and final reading. But it didn’t happen as no quorum was achieved after Cayetano and the majority refused to show up in the aftermath of the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada for plunder charges.
The following day, Boatwright went to the Senate again. Nothing happened.
And then, he showed up again. Still nothing. Three precious days wasted.
Now, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas is in a race against time as the deadline of submission of names for the 20th Asian Games is drawing near. Unless a special session is held, Boatwright's bid to play for Gilas Pilipinas is slowly evaporating.
Boatwright could have been a big help to Gilas. With the Asian Games organizers imposing a “passport-only” eligibility rule, he could have teamed up with Justin Brownlee and other Filipinos like Kai Sotto, AJ Edu, June Mar Fajardo, Quentin Millora-Brown and Mike Phillips in forming the strongest Gilas squad ever that could beat reigning champion Jordan, China and host country Japan.
But that dream is now in peril after Cayetano snubbed the last three days of session of the 20th Congress so that he will keep his tight grip on the Senate leadership before the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte rolls on 6 July. Personal politics over the country’s glory.
If Gilas suffers a heartbreaking loss in the Asian Games, I hope basketball-crazy Filipinos will not forget Cayetano who shamelessly refused to tackle Boatwright's naturalization in a desperate attempt to cling on to power.
Now, is his heart really for Filipino athletes? I don't think so.
