EAC official dumps dancesport group

A venue manager of Emilio Aguinaldo College almost caused the cancellation of an international event of the Professional Dancesport Association of the Philippines (PDSAP) by arbitrarily cancelling their booking for their first-ever open dance competition, apparently out of mere wounded pride.

PDSAP is the national association of all those who make their living in dancesport and compete professionally here and abroad. Three weeks ago, PDSAP director Anne Poloyapoy, herself an international dancesport champion with her partner and husband Jerswin, approached this writer seeking assistance in finding a suitable venue for their initial “Pilipinas Dancesport” competiton scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 27. All facilities under the Philippine Sports Commission were unavailable. The group needed an air-conditioned venue with a wooden floor and seating for at least a thousand spectators.

Finally, the group was referred by a friend of this writer to Emilio Aguinaldo College, which has two basketball gyms in its building adjacent to Taft Avenue in Manila. In our initial conversation with Joey Mallari, the physical plant manager in charge of the gyms, equipment and other facilities, this writer explained very clearly that it would be a dancesport event, and international adjudicators would be present to judge the participants. Mallari even accompanied our group to inspect both gyms.

The cost was somewhat prohibitive, no less than P 52,000 for one day’s use of the air-conditioning alone, a total of over P 94,000 in all. It was much higher than other venues, but time was of the essence. There was hardly any time to look at other venues, assuming any were available. The PDSAP swallowed the bitter pill and agreed to the price. The contract was drafted, and when it was prepared, Poloyapoy signed it. PDSAP then spread the word that they had secured a venue. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Naturally, PDSAP still sought a means to get a discount, since it was their initial event and they had very little outside funding in terms of sponsorship. They looked for pertinent persons they had worked with, taught or invited to other events the members had individually organized. One of the PDSAP directors found a Rotarian friend of a director of EAC, who in turn requested Mallari to give them a discount. The event would bring great publicity to the school and forge a longer relationship with the group. Dancesport coaches have been trying to initiate moves to include the sport in the NCAA calendar for the last two years, and this would have also been their foot in the door. Moreover, it would have shown that EAC was a forward thinking institution known for more than its basketball team, the Generals.

Poloyapoy had already signed the contract, and says Mallari claimed that it was just being photocopied, and that he would furnish the PDSAP a copy soonest. Poloyapoy was even asking if they could use the newer gym, since the old gym had a rubberized floor which increased the risk of ankle injuries to some of the participants. Both venues were supposedly available. At any rate, they already had a contract, and it was just a question of which gym they would ultimately be allowed to use.

Imagine her shock when she commuted back to EAC Thursday afternoon – less than three full days before the event – and was informed by Mallari that their “technical committee” had cancelled the booking. Mallari had never informed PDSAP that there was a committee – supposedly an architect and engineer – that still had to approve the booking. Poloyapoy also says that Mallari scoffed and made a crack about their group finding a “padrino” to get a discount. She said that it appeared he had been offended by their going over his head.

“They knew it was a dancesport event from the start. We explained everything to them,” says Poloyapoy. “They left us hanging with no alternative, and it was too late for us to cancel the event. The foreign judges and participants were already here.”

Mallari supposedly claimed that the athletes’ dancing shoes would damage the wooden basketball floor. Poloyapoy explained that the dancers wore heel protectors that would avoid scratching the hardwood, and that they had previously been involved in competitions for the Dancesport Council of the Philippines (the national sports association for amateur competitions) held at bigger, more prestigious venues like the PhilSports Arena and Ninoy Aquino Stadium without any problems. Mallari supposedly refused to budge. Instead, he said he would consult the school’s “architect”, who never directly spoke with Poloyapoy or was ever involved in the negotiation. After supposedly contacting the “architect” who never physically appeared, he said that there was no way they would allow the event to push through. What was even more outrageous was that Mallari alleged that their “architect” wanted a refundable cash bond in case the floor was damaged. Initially, the amount mentioned was P50,000. Poloyapoy considered paying, confident that they would not do any damage to the flooring. Then the amount skyrocketed to P200,000, more than double the rental of the venue itself, and definitely out of the question. Poloyapoy says Mallari himself said the amount was a farce, and he could not do anything about it.

“I even got my dancing shoes from the car and offered to do a demo myself, just to satisfy them, just as their director had instructed, so they could see no damage would be done,” Poloyapoy adds. “But he refused even that.”

It would have been an international embarrassment for the PDSAP, since the foreign adjudicators had already arrived earlier in the week, and were holding lessons and lectures in preparation for the event. Can you imagine if the organizers were forced to reimburse travel expenses merely because of the act of bad faith of one booking officer? The damage to the credibility of the PDSAP would have been severe.

What is difficult to understand is that the contract entered into was done with the full knowledge of the nature of the event, and why the cancellation happened after the PDSAP sought the intercession of an intermediary merely to get a discount to save on cost. Attempts by The STAR to contact Mallari at his office have failed.

A former high-ranking athletics official of EAC told The STAR that he had had a similar encounter with Mallari when he was still with the school. The official, who requested to remain anonymous, revealed that he also had trouble booking their own gym for an event on at least one other occasion because Mallari arbitrarily changed his mind after everything had been agreed upon. The same former athletics official attempted to intercede on behalf of the PDSAP with Dr. Jose Paulo Campos, president of the college, but it was too late. By Friday afternoon, no progress had been made. With the EDSA holiday and the weekend, it would have been difficult to push the paperwork and rebook the venue.

Fortunately for the PDSAP, they also have friends who support sports. Even if it was a holiday, San Juan’s sports director Morell Decena offered San Juan Gym (where MBA games were once played) at an even lower rate than EAC. It was a great act of good will, especially since San Juan Arena was the original choice of the group, but had already been booked for another occasion. Eventually, the PDSAP was able to book Meralco Sports Center for the one-day event. Yesterday’s competition went well, as the dancesport community rallied around the event, and everything flowed smoothly despite the change in venue.

And now, the top officials of Emilio Aguinaldo College know that they have an employee who has a history of hurting the school’s reputation as a lover of sports, even with members of its own athletics department.