PNVF admits allowance shortcomings for Alas Pilipinas after Bagunas' rant

The Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) confirmed Thursday that the Alas Pilipinas men's and women's volleyball squads have not received their monthly allowance since July, citing a lack of funds and “sports politics.”

PNVF Executive Director Miguel Carlos Suarez’s remarks during a Senate hearing confirmed the grievances of men’s team captain Bryan Bagunas over funding shortfalls that forced athletes to foot their own bills, while some had to borrow money to cover transportation, food, and other expenses for training needs during the recent 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

Suarez was asked whether allegations of financial neglect were true.

“From July onwards, Mr. Chair, they haven't received [monthly allowance] from PNVF,” he told the Senate sports committee chaired by Senator Bong Go. “There's [a] lack of funds, Mr. Chair, on the part of PNVF.”

The fund shortage was largely blamed on the federation's recent leadership revamp. Businessman Frank Lao only took over the PNVF presidency in August, a little over a month before the Asiad, and reportedly inherited over P20 million in debt.

Since then, there has been no formal turnover of the funds, leaving the federation with limited capacity to financially support athletes, according to Suarez.

“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,” he told the panel.

The International Volleyball Federation previously suspended the PNVF over governance and ethics concerns, but eventually lifted it after leadership changes and commitments to reform.

Philippine Sports Commission chair Patrick Gregorio said they have been willing to extend support to the PNVF amid its financial woes, provided it resolves its financial obligations with the PSC.

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.

Former PSC commissioner Monico Puentevella agreed 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 Philippine Olympic Committee and the PNVF’s previous leadership.

“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, 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.