MANILA, 26 December 2003 — Now it can be told: Paul Asi Taulava is this year’s Most Valuable Player of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
Taulava rode hide on crest of votes from journalists and fellow players to become the 2003 MVP of the pro league, the highest honor given out in the recently-concluded awards night.
The 6-foot-9 Talk ‘N’ Text slotman finished a close second to Coca-Cola forward Rudy Hatfield in the statistical race but was swept into the league’s top honor by votes from media men, players and a four-member MVP committee.
Taulava was on 34 of the 42 votes cast by media men, got half of the 32 votes from players, and won all four votes of the MVP committee members to become the first foreign-born player to win the award since Ricardo Brown in 1985.
Together with the 1,158 points Taulava got from statistics, he garnered 8,845 points to win over Hatfield (2,752), Coke’s Jeffrey Cariaso (2,043) and Rafi Reavis (1,081), TNT teammate Jimmy Alapag (920) and Alaska’s Ali Peek (760).
Taulava also won spots in the Mythical first team and the All-Defensive team selections to cap off a career year that saw him lead the Talk ‘N’ Text Phone Pals to their first conference championship in the PBA All-Filipino Cup.
He got a reprieve in a bid to keep the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration from canceling his Filipino citizenship following an injunction issued by a Manila court.
Taulava is one of at least five players in the league who is being recommended by the Senate for deportation following allegedly fraudalent citizenship papers.
In a five-page order for injunction and -or prohibition issued by Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 34, Judge Romulo Lopez ordered the BI and the DoJ to suspend or refrain from immediately canceling Taulava’s identification certificate No. 019150 and from immediately instituting deportation proceedings against the Fil-foreign player until all parties have been heard and have submitted their respective evidence. Taulava also posted a bond of 1 million pesos as assurance to pay respondents DoJ and BI whatever damage they may sustain if the Manila RTC finally determines that Taulava is not entitled to such relief.
In his civil case, Taulava claimed that the two departments are “threatening, attempting to do, procuring or suffering, some acts of violations to his rights and will cause injustice and prejudice to his person.”
Taulava’s lawyers said they can prove that Taulava is a Filipino-Tongan whose parents are natural-born citizens of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, lawyers for the players union - the Professional Players Basketball Association (PPBA) - said the BI is capable of initiating summary deportation proceedings. But the BI opted to wait for the DoJ’s revocation of certificates of recognition before the proceedings. Actually, the PPBA could file a case but will wait for the results of DoJ and BI’s evaluation of the Senate report of fake Fil-foreign players.
It can be recalled that Taulava was already deported in 2000 but managed to come back and play again for the Phone Pals, whom he piloted to an All-Filipino title while winning Best Player of the Conference honors.
The PBA earlier said it will abide by the government agencies’ decision should the DoJ and BI validate the Senate report.
The Senate committee has concluded that at least five mainstays in the PBA, who formally claimed Filipino lineage, have no roots in the Philippines.
Aside from Taulava, the Senate committee named the players whose documentation as half-Filipino was dubious as 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.
The findings mostly unearthed questionable entries on the documents the Fil-foreign players submitted to the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation and the Department of Justice to back up their claim to Filipino citizenship.
The “Fil-shams” presented little evidence, if none at all, to rebutt Barbers’ findings pointing to them as “fake.”
A highlight of the final hearing was the admission of Yuri del Valle, municipal civil registrar of the town of San Jose in Northern Samar province, that he helped fix the papers of Taulava upon the request of Don Raymundo “Boy” Daza, brother of former Samar congressman and now Gov. Raul Daza.
