UST to present findings of probe on Tigers' training 'bubble'

MANILA, Philippines – University of Santo Tomas will finally appear before the Inter-Agency Task Force fact-finding body Tuesday to officially present the findings of its internal probe on the alleged Sorsogon bubble seen as a possible quarantine protocol breach amid the pandemic.

After respectfully declining in the first two meetings, UST, which already wrapped up its probe last week, will shed light on the matter once and for all along with officials from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

A verdict from the group made up of the Philippine Sports Commission, Department of Health, Games and Amusement Board and the Commission on Higher Education, however, is not expected to be made right away.

“There will be no decision (yet) as UST will just be submitting the result of its internal investigation,” said GAB chairman Baham Mitra, who helped draft the tri-agency Joint Administrative Order (JAO) for sports training resumption with the PSC and DOH. 

The Tigers, as a varsity squad, are up for possible violation under the said JAO that only allows activities for professional teams for now.

Then there’s CHED.

As the governing body for colleges and universities like the UST, CHED said that possible sanctions it could hand out are still up in the air until UST confides all the truth on the controversial bubble in Sorsogon, hometown of coach Aldin Ayo.

 “What the Commission wants to see is who decided on this? The accountable officials, as far as CHED is concerned, are the leaders of the university,” said chairman Prospero De Vera, reiterating that CHED already restricted all school from allowing any student movement as early as March.

“That’s why we’re waiting for the UST report to know who authorized it. Did the school sanction it? Did any school official allow it? Or was it done without any permission from the school? Those are the things we need to look.”

The looming verdict on UST soon will be the latest setback in Espana after the resignation of Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA) director Fr. Jannel Abogado, OP, and the departure of key players Brent Paraiso and CJ Cansino.

Meanwhile, National University is also expected to attend the meeting to answer the same allegations after footages of the alleged team training of its volleyball squad surfaced last week.