‘Sports politics’ blamed for Bagunas, Alas Pilipinas woes

The Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) confirmed that members of the national men’s and women’s teams have yet to receive their monthly allowances since July due to lack of funds brought by “sports politics.”

During the Senate hearing on Thursday, PNVF executive director Miguel Carlos Suarez validated the claim of Alas Pilipinas Men team captain Bryan Bagunas that some of them have already resorted to borrowing money just to attend trainings after their allowances have been cut off.

“From July onwards, Mr. Chair, they haven’t received their monthly allowance from the PNVF,” Suarez told the Senate Sports Committee chaired by Senator Christopher “Bong” Go.

“There’s a lack of funds, Mr. Chair, on the part of the PNVF.”

There’s a bigger reason behind the federation’s financial crisis.

Six months since Ramon “Tats” Suzara was booted out as PNVF chief by the group of Tonyboy Liao in an election last November, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) suspended the PNVF for serious governance concerns and violations of its code of ethics.

Sources said Suzara, an influential figure in the international volleyball community for being the executive vice president of the FIVB and president of the Asian Volleyball Confederation, had a hand in the FIVB’s suspension of the PNVF that also paved the way for the withdrawal of support of both the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

With that, the POC created an ad hoc body to take over while the PSC froze its funding to the federation. With that, the PNVF incurred debts to cover its operational expenses and the salaries of its foreign and local coaches.

With a new president in businessman Frank Lao, the PNVF is facing financial challenges as it inherited a massive debt of P20 million with no formal turnover of funds, leaving it with very limited financial capacity to support its athletes while trying to secure reinstatement from the FIVB, POC and PSC.

“So, everything, President Frank Lao is advancing from his personal funds, Mr. Chair. So, we had to prioritize which ones are to be paid first, especially in consideration of the lifting of suspension. We prioritize paying the coaches, the back wages of the coaches, Mr. Chair. And until now, we haven’t paid everything, Mr. Chair,” Suarez told the panel.

PSC chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio said they are willing to extend support to the PNVF amid its financial woes, provided that it resolves the financial obligations of its past leaders to the government.

Gregorio lamented that the delays in the liquidation process have put the PSC in a “challenging situation” given that the funds are subject to audit.

“I hope they do their job in terms of liquidation because as long as (those funds) remain unliquidated, it is the PSC that gets bogged down by them,” he said in Filipino.

Another contributing factor, he said, was frequent leadership changes, with the president changing three times in just a year. Gregorio stressed this makes the transition especially difficult.

Go contended that athletes must be spared from the federation’s ongoing internal disputes and advised the parties to refrain from engaging in sports politics.

Weightlifting president Monico Puentevella, a former PSC commissioner, agrees that politics should be kept out of sports, but argued that PSC should not take the blame for the situation. Instead, he explicitly tagged the POC and the PNVF’s previous leadership under Suzara, who is also the subject of an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation for his involvement in the alleged anomaly during the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

“Regarding the politics in volleyball, the Philippine Olympic Committee is the one interfering there. The people involved? Tats Suzara. They are also the ones who led PHISGOC (Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee), which is being investigated by the Senate,” he asserted.

Puentevella commended Bagunas’ remarks for highlighting athletes’ grievances over the government’s lack of support, though he noted that the same does not apply to all players.

Bagunas was invited to the hearing but was not present as he is currently in Japan to play professionally.