MANILA, 4 July 2003 — After all the controversies surrounding the random drug testing of players in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), the league has decided to suspend until the qualifying for the Asian Invitationals kicks off this month.
The PBA has been rocked by scandal after some star players, including those who have a clean image, tested positive for drug use and were immediately slapped with indefinite suspensions.
The drug offenders include a second-time offender and two highly-paid superstars - one of whom the unlikeliest person to use drugs.
Except for of Red Bull’s prized pointguard Jimwell Torion who readily owned up to the offense, all the others who tested positive in the drug check have professed innocence.
PBA technical chief Perry Martinez, the prime mover of the league’s drug-testing policy, said there will be no drug testing during the championship series of the ongoing season-opening All-Filipino Cup.
League officials felt the move was necessary to enable the players of the All-Filipino Cup finalists - Coca Cola and Talk ‘N’ Text - to concentrate on the games unaffected by the mental drawbacks the drug tests might bring.
“It’s also unfair that the remaining teams undergo random testing while the other squads don’t,” said Martinez.
He said the drug-check program of the league for the entire season is almost complete with more than 90 percent of the players already having gone through random tests and 100 percent through mandatory urine diagnosis.
Outside of basketball, the Philippines has tried to deal with a serious illegal drugs problem by enforcing stricter laws and making drug trafficking a capital offense.
Officials estimate the value of the illegal drug trade in the Philippines at 81.6 billion pesos ($1.5 billion) a year.
Team officials expressed alarm at the way the tests were conducted, raising fears the urine samples taken on the players may have been tampered with.
Indeed, the doping problem has alarmed the basketball sports industry still struggling from waning game revenues amid economic difficulties and the emergence of new and rival forms of entertainment.
Last month, siren calls were made to review the random drug test being conducted in the pro league.
Sen. Robert Jaworski slammed the drug tests, saying they were “flawed”.
Known as the Living Legend of Philippine Basketball, Jaworski called on PBA commissioner Noli Eala to act immediately and correct what he said were “flaws” in the PBA’s drug testing system.
Jaworski even filed Resolution 616 which seeks a full inquiry on the issue of players accused of being drug dependents who are cleared in independent examinations.
A total of 10 players has been tested positive for illegal drugs.
Talk ‘N’ Text’s ace slotman Paul Asi Taulava, Torion, San Miguel center Dorian Pe?a, who had been slapped a two-game suspension for marijuana use in the pre-season, Red Bull star Davonn Harp, Barangay Ginebra forward Jun Limpot - the unlikeliest person to use drugs - Talk ‘N’ Text backups Noli Locsin and Angelo David and FedEx slotman Ryan Bernardo all failed the tests. Three team utility men along with FedEx physical therapist Kenneth Dichoso also failed the drug test.
The 28-year-old Torion, who tested positive for liquid methamphetamine hydrochloride, acknowledged he took the drug during a night out with friends but stressed he was not an addict, according to news reports. He asked the public to forgive him and urged other players to stay away from drugs.
Jaworski, reacting to Eala’s statements that he stands firm on his decision to suspend the players who had tested positive for an illegal substance in the PBA’s mandatory drug testing last month, said the players’ rights had been violated and this should be addressed immediately.
“The Senate hearing last week showed there were, indeed, errors in the implementation of the program which were made the basis in slapping penalties so they have to be corrected,” Jaworski said.
“I think commissioner Eala misinterpreted the Senate’s intention in conducting the investigation. Let me repeat this, our intention is to help the PBA rid its ranks of drugs, which to us is a noble and laudable undertaking. But when mistakes were identified leading to the players’ suspension, we should fix it immediately,” he said.
Eala suspended the players who failed the mandatory testing indefinitely and all of them will be subjected to rehabilitation programs ranging from four months to one year.
“Look, we are speaking here of the players’ future, of their reputation having been tarnished and their families besmirched so why wait for some other time?” Jaworski added.
“I say there were errors in the process because how can you explain the fact that (Jun) Limpot, apart from testing positive for an illegal substance, was also found to be positive for a medication intended to cure epilepsy,” he said.
Sen. Robert Barbers also urged the PBA to standardize its guidelines regarding the implementation of fines and penalties on drug offenders regardless of the kind of prohibited drug that was used.
He made the suggestion after he was informed during last week’s Senate inquiry that the sanctions being imposed on erring players and officials varies - at least a two-game suspension for use of marijuana and an automatic indefinite suspension for use of hard drugs like shabu, cocaine or heroine.
“Why do we have to classify the kind of drug? Why don’t we come up with a certain standard for all the prohibited drugs? Why do we have to classify whether it is marijuana, shabu or Ecstacy?” were the questions directed by Barbers to Eala.
Barbers cited Republic Act 9165 which states that the type of penalty should depend on the quantity of the drug used by or apprehended on a person, and not on the type since they are all prohibited under the law.
He was reacting to the fact that Taulava was only meted a two-game suspension after traces of marijuana were found in his urine samples while Limpot and eight others were suspended indefinitely - without pay - after testing positive for other banned substances, and despite the fact that most of them have contested the results.
“But under the law marijuana is a prohibited drug. That’s why I’m surprised why there is a distinction as to the kind of prohibited drug before a penalty is imposed and how long. We have to be consistent with the provisions of RA 9165 because that’s the law,” Barbers stressed.
Eala defended the PBA guidelines by saying that marijuana is a “debilitating drug” which players are less prone to take because it affects their performance on the court.
The professional league, established 28 years ago, has about 200 players and 10 teams funded by top Philippine corporations.
The increasing number of positive cases has prompted officials to consider requiring all players to undergo a one-time mandatory drug test and employing a more accurate but expensive hair follicle test.
