MANILA, 11 July 2003 — Look who’s at the center of controversy for allegedly faking his claim to Filipino citizenship: the secretary general of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) — the country’s governing body for basketbal.
Graham Lim, described as a Chinese and currently holding a sensitive position in the BAP, is under fire for questions over the authenticity of his Filipino citizenship.
Lim has been appointed BAP secretary general despite allegations by the referees and other former BAP officials that he is not a Filipino citizen.
He has been asked to appear before the Bureau of Immigration to answer charges that he “misrepresented” himself as a Filipino in several trips abroad while holding Chinese citizenship.
The subpoena, signed by special prosecutor Cesar Santos, has summoned Lim to appear in a preliminary hearing at the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID) on July 10 that will determine if appropriate charges for immigration violations would be filed against the long-time BAP official.
Earlier, a complaint was filed by three former referees and officials against Lim after the latter reportedly removed them from the BAP. The international referees, led by veteran Liberato Valenzuela, who were removed from the BAP Referees Commission (Baprecom) roster after Lim led a group that ousted BAP President Freddie Jalasco in 2001. Valenzuela and his group sought the support of Sen. Robert Barbers and Rep. Monico Puentevella as they seek the deportation of Lim.
In separate letters to Barbers and Puentevella, the referees likened Lim’s case to those of the so-called “Fil-shams,” which Barbers’ Committee on Games, Amusements and Sports, has been looking into for several months now. In their letter to Barbers, Valenzuela and the other signatories including Lim?s former deputy Emmanuel Perez de Tagle, presented their case to the Bureau of Immigration against Lim, whom they claimed is a Chinese citizen. Valenzuela’s group also presented documents to Barbers, indicating Lim?s claim to Filipino citizenship since 1991 despite applying for naturalization only in 1994.
The documents showed Lim in possession of a Philippine passport, which is only granted to Filipinos, since 1991 although he has yet to apply for Filipino citizenship. Lim’s 1994 petition for naturalization was even dismissed in 1995 for Lim’s apparent lack of interest in pursuing his own appeal.
The referees, most of them veteran international court officials, claimed they were rendered jobless by Lim who allegedly favored their own group of referees with lesser credentials than the former Baprecom composition.
Valenzuela, along with other International Basketball Federation accredited referee that included Conrado Mercado, Matias Calizer, Rafael Britanico and Carlito Camorongan, lost their jobs after a coup supported by the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) that ousted Jalasco and his group.
The referees claimed Lim committed a “mockery and abuse of the Philippine immigration laws with utter disdain and impunity.” They described Lim as a “Philippine-born alien” 46 years ago and they are asking the BI for the immediate deportation of Lim.
The petitioners submitted evidance claiming Lim, who is also the newly appointed commissioner of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), has traveled abroad using a fraudulent Philippine passport since 1991, even if his petition for Philippine citizenship was dismissed by a Manila court in 1994.
They claimed Lim was able to secure travel visas to the US, Italy, Greece, Australia and other Asian countries using his Philippine passport.
