Accountability is essential

A meeting is set today involving the IATF, PSC, GAB, CHED, DOH and UAAP to take up the issue of the UST men’s basketball team that recently trained in Sorsogon in violation of government guidelines regarding sports activities. UST was supposed to submit a report on its investigation to the UAAP last Friday and in the wake of the Sorsogon camp expose that was precipitated by the exit of star player C. J. Cansino, UST athletic director Fr. Jannel Abogado has resigned.

Fr. Abogado’s resignation came suddenly and his position was taken over by his predecessor Fr. Ermito De Sagon who had served 16 years with the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics before he left in 2017. Fr. De Sagon’s imprint is etched in UAAP history as the proponent of the suspension of the La Salle sports program in Season 69 after the Taft school uncovered an eligibility anomaly related to two players in the men’s basketball team. La Salle could’ve kept quiet about its discovery but decided to reveal the finding to the UAAP, unraveling a probe that led to the suspension not only of the men’s basketball team but the school’s entire sports program for a year. The heartless decision of forcing the one-year sit-out of athletes uninvolved in men’s basketball was unprecedented and Fr. De Sagon must be complimented for the hatchet job. How ironic that Fr. De Sagon is now back in the UST saddle to investigate an apparent IATF violation that was not uncovered by his school.

Since it was during Fr. Abogado’s watch that the alleged violation happened, his sudden resignation puts a cloud of doubt on the transparency of how the school intends to deal with this issue.  The prudent thing to do was to keep Fr. Abogado in his position, make him answerable to whatever charges there are, let him explain what happened and at the conclusion of the investigation, get him to face the music like a man. Only after the investigation should UST have accepted or initiated his resignation if warranted.

By the way, a form affirming parental or guardian’s consent for players to train in Sorsogon was addressed to Fr. Abogado dated last June 2. The form supposedly absolves the school and team officials from responsibility or liability in case something untoward happens to a player during the camp. Surely, Fr. Abogado knew about this initiative unless the form is a fabrication. If UST will be represented in today’s meeting, it should be Fr. Abogado facing the IATF, not Fr. de Sagon to take away the suspicion of a cover-up. Accountability is essential.

There is talk that the UST men’s basketball team sponsors coughed up P3 million for the Sorsogon expedition.  The rumor is part of the budget was to spruce up the gym where the team trained. There is also talk of the players not being given the proper nutrition and food during the camp. The players themselves have come out in public to express their distaste for the things they went through in leaving home for Sorsogon under threat of losing their allowances, scholarships and slots on the team.

Whose idea was it to do the training? Whoever came up with the plan must be accountable not only to the UAAP but also to the IATF. The instigator put the lives of student-athletes at risk in violation of government protocols. Why was the camp set up in the first place? For the coaching staff to justify receiving their salaries? For the team to get a head’s start over the opposition in training for the next season? But nobody knows when the next season will begin. Is the goal of winning the championship so important that you put the lives of student-athletes in jeopardy and violate the law?

The NU women’s volleyball team has apparently done a training camp, too. Will NU be represented in today’s meeting? If not, why not? NU and UST seem to be on the same boat. Both must be accountable for what they’ve done. Former POC legal counsel Atty. Victor Africa said “the ‘violations’ have given us cause to raise questions on our values in sports but a question that seems pertinent is – What are the values that Philippines sports itself manifests and passes on? We may have been giving wrong signals and this may have been brought about by our obsession with winning, by our thinking that sports is only about winning, by our expectation of nothing less than the trophy or the medal from our team…we may have impressed on our team that it can and should do everything, and anything, to win.”