MANILA, 8 August 2003 — Is the players’ union in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) fighting a losing battle against fake Filipino-foreign player?
Not so. Yet retired cager Jojo Lastimosa, spokesman of the Professional Players Basketball Association (PPBA), thinks their group lacks support from their members in their bid to help purge the league of fake Filipino-foreign players.
The truth is, most of the local players are getting impatient on the fake Filipino-foreign player issue. But it has become a one-man battle for the players union, according to Lastimosa.
He said they could not wait any longer.
After seven highly publicized hearings that stretched almost seven months, the Senate has finally wrapped up its inquiry on the controversial issue, confident it had gathered enough evidence to track down fake foreign-bred players. But it has not yet released until now the final result of their investigation on the cases of Fil-Ams, notoriously known as “Fil-shams”.
The Senate Committee on Games and Sports, headed by Sen. Robert Barbers, is expected to release its final report soon.
However, the filing of cases against the Fil-shams lies in the hands of the players union. Deportation cases may be filed based on falsification of public documents.
The Senate Committee is a non-prosecutorial body and is merely acting on and investigating the issue in aid of legislation.
The issue stems on charges and accusations that some Fil-foreign players have altered, falsified or tampered public documents to prove their Filipino lineage.
Interestingly, the Senate Committee has admitted that it’s “not easy” to scrutinize the cagers’ documents.
As a matter of fact, despite the order for deportation of at least five alleged Fil-shams, it seems nobody wants to put it in effect.
Unless cases are formally filed against these Fil-shams, the current crop of Fil-foreigners in the league can sit back and relax, continue to play for their respective ballclubs, and simply ignore the prospects of being prosecuted, jailed and later on deported.
During the previous hearings, immigration officials have stressed that they cannot work on deportation cases or even start deportation proceedings unless a formal case is filed against any individual.
The players union said it should be the Bureau of Immigration (BI) which should act on the deportation of suspected illegal Fil-foreign players in the pro league, saying the agency could act on Sen. Barbers’ request.
Lastimosa, who retired this year and joined the coaching staff of Alaska, urged the players to support him and the groups’ cause to cleanse the professional league of bogus Filipino-foreign players.
The 39-year-old former cager shrugged off the cold reception he got from the players at the start of the probe seven months ago, saying that it may have something to do with their fear of losing their jobs in the future.
A many-time national team member, Lastimosa also said the PBA players’ support has not been that strong, one reason why they still could not hold their election of officers this year.
Purefoods team skipper Alvin Patrimonio, Benjie Paras and Zaldy Realubit and Bonel Balingit, former PBA players, were just among the few cagers who stood side by side with Lastimosa during the hearing of the alleged fake Fil-Ams in the Senate.
Lastimosa also said he intends to personally visit and talk with players just before the start of the Reinforced Conference since at this point, some teams are busy with the ongoing Asian Invitational Championship, the PBA’s side tournament.
Lastimosa said: “We are not against Fil-Americans. If they really are Fil-Ams, they have the right to be here. But what we really want to get rid of are the fake ones who are depriving our local cagers the chance to pursue a career in the PBA.”
The players’ union promised to set up a screening committee of its own that would seriously look into the eligibility of incoming Fil-foreign cagers beginning next season.
Lastimosa said the committee would serve as a safety net from the possible influx of fake Fil-foreign players in the future.
“We don’t want to go back to square one whenever a questionable Fil-foreign cager comes along and plays in the PBA. So we’re going to come up with our own findings to safeguard the interests of the league and its players,” he said.
In the PPBA’s petition, they also noted the extraordinary perks enjoyed by Fil-foreign players even if “quite a number of them have actually no roots of any Filipino birthright and lineage.”
“We, the undersigned professional basketball players of the Philippine Basketball Association, hereby manifest and ventilate our grievances, disgust and sentiments on the influx of bogus Filipino-American basketball players, as well as the prevalent double-standard of treatments, benefits and privileges accorded to the Fil-Am players as against the homegrown talents,” the players said. Lastimosa revealed during the hearing that aside from getting higher salaries, the Fil-foreign players are also enjoying free lodging, free transportation with driver, and big bonuses from their respective management.
Owners and managers of the 10 PBA teams acknowledged the privileges but denied that they are given exclusively to Fil-Foreign players.
The Senate committee has concluded that at least five mainstays in the PBA, who formally claimed Filipino lineage, have no roots in the Philippines.
It is now in the process of drafting a report that will lead on the next course of action to be taken against some of the players with allegedly fraudulent citizenship papers.
The Senate Committee named the players whose documentation as half-Filipino was dubious as Asi Taulava of Talk ‘N’ Text, Jon Ordonio and Ali Peek of Alaska, Dorian Pe?a of San Miguel Beer, and Rudolf Hatfield of Coca-Cola.
The committee made an investigation and visited the place of birth of people that these players have claimed to be their relatives but could not find their birth, baptismal, residential “and even death certificates.”
The committee wrapped up evidence and pieces of information already divulged against some dubious Fil-Ams in previous hearings. Barbers said the “Fil-shams” failed to satisfy his series of questions regarding their true bloodlines.
According to Barbers, the committee, which also included Senators John Osme?a and Robert Jaworski, will need at least two weeks to finalize its findings before submitting a final report to the plenary.
The committee will then meet to decide on the recommendations it would make in the final report. But Barbers admitted that the Committee can do no more than to make recommendations on the issue.
Asked if the body would recommend the prosecution of the Fil-Ams, Barbers said: “I would say a few of them, based on the documents in our possession.”
A most likely course of action is for the Senate Committee to turn over its findings to the PBA Players Association which would be tasked to file the necessary charges in court. Other alleged “Fil-shams” who have been grilled by the Senate Committee include Eric Menk, Rob Duat, Nic Belasco, Andy Seigle, Rafi Reavis and John Arigo, among others.
