MANILA, 23 May 2003 — The Professional Players Basketball Association (PPBA) is determined to dip its hands into the PBA union fund.

Close to 14 million pesos is safely stored in the trust fund of the union, which was revived early this year after being dormant for almost half a decade.

Standing at the forefront of the players’ union are veterans Alvin Patrimonio and Jojo Lastimosa who act as their spokesmen.

They are initiating moves to get additional benefits for union members playing in the country’s premier league.

“Right now, the trust fund is solely used for the education of the players’ children,” said Lastimosa, who added the union had already got the financial statement of the trust fund from 1999 and 2000. “Now that we know the figure, we’d like to add some more benefits for players since they really need them.” Lastimosa, who ended his colorful playing career before the start of the ongoing All-Filipino Cup, said he would not want another PBA player to suffer.

He cited the experience of the late Jack Tanuan, a PBA veteran who died of kidney failure last year.

Tanuan, who played for Purefoods, Sta. Lucia Realty, Sarsi (Pop Cola) before ending his professional career as the starting center of the Negros Slashers in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), spent every centavo he had earned for a kidney transplant.

But months after going under the knife, Tanuan died of kidney failure and other complications.

“We can use the trust fund in many ways that would benefit the players. It could come in the form of hospital benefits and retirement benefits. Each year, since 2001, at least 1 million is going directly to the trust fund,” said Lastimosa, who now serves as part of the Aces coaching staff.

Sensing urgency, Lastimosa explained that he will holds talks with the board of trustees to discuss his proposal.

No thanks to the influx of Fil-foreign players, the surplus of players this year has reached to 60 cagers who have been displaced and would be needing jobs soon.

Among those displaced cagers include Zaldy Realubit, Bonel Balingit, Jay Mendoza, Oscar Simon and other role players like Ronilo Padilla and Mike Mustre.

Aside from tracking where its money went on the years of its dormancy, the union is also pushing for a more active role in the affairs of the PBA, a proposition that is expected to get the sharp eye of league and franchise officials who have long been secretive of the league’s internal affairs.

The union wants to take control of the Players’ Trust Fund, which has been surrounded by mystery.

For the record, the last time the players had a look at the trust fund was in 1993, when it amounted to about 14 million pesos, although Lastimosa suspects the figure could have soared to stratospheric heights because of the accumulated interest and the fact that it has been annually reaping funds.

“We want to know how much money is in it, what has happened to it and how we can go about taking control of the fund. It is, after all, the trust fund of the players,” said the 14-year veteran Lastimosa. Monitored by the Commissioner’s Office, part of the league revenues in All-Star Games and fines imposed on players and team members go directly to the trust fund to finance scholarships of players and their children, among others. But the players have no knowledge on its financial status.

Lastimosa recalled that back in 1993, the trust fund was already 14 million pesos aside from the interest it earned from the bank. Lastimosa estimated the amount has ballooned to as much as 60 million pesos.

“We requested for a complete auditing of the trust fund last year but our demand was turned down. Instead, what they showed us was the number of scholars the Commissioner’s Office had granted,” said Lastimosa.

He added the players’ union would ask for a dialogue with the Commissioner’s Office and “they better come up with an explanation, especially the PBA official assigned to monitor the transactions of the fund.”

Aside from transparency, the players will also request that the interests it gained be diverted directly to the union’s coffers to sustain its day-to-day operations.

“I think it’s time the union become really active in the affairs of the league. After all, we are the ones who are playing in the league,” Lastimosa said, adding he was hopeful that with the arrival of hotshot, young players, the union will not cease to be active once he and Patrimonio retire.

Aside from the trust fund, Lastimosa said the union would seek a more active role in the league governance.

The players union was revived in the face of Fil-foreign players “invading” the league. The group is eager to press league officials to set guidelines that would streamline the entry of Fil-foreign cagers in the PBA.

Summary deportation for Fil-foreign players with incomplete documents was the recommendation of the players’ union to the senate committee investigating the presence of fake Fil-foreigners in the league.

The Senate last week had finally wrapped up its inquiry on the controversial “Fil-sham” issue in the PBA after seven highly publicized hearings that stretched almost seven months.

The Senate said it had gathered enough evidence to track down fake foreign-bred players. The Senate Committee on Games and Sports, headed by Sen. Barbers, concluded that at least five mainstays in the PBA, who formally claimed Filipino lineage, have no roots in the Philippines.