|
 FIVE
of nine voting members of the Philippine Basketball
Association (PBA) board of governors want to give
Commissioner Noli Eala—who was disbarred
by the Supreme Court last week—a gracious exit.
The same
governors also encouraged Eala to quit rather than face
a vote over his “grossly immoral conduct.”
Under
league rules, a sitting commissioner can be ousted by a
three-fourths vote, meaning the group of five that wants
Eala to quit—Red Bull, Air21, Coca-Cola, Talk ’N Text
and Sta. Lucia—needs one more vote to oust Eala.
Three
votes are those of San Miguel group—San Miguel Beer,
Purefoods and Ginebra—and the ninth is that of
Alaska.
“While
Eala’s case ‘is a private issue,’ it has taken on a
‘different face’ because ‘the office he is occupying is
a high-profile post,’” a governor intimated. “How can we
now hold players to uphold certain standards if we let
this thing pass?”
Another
governor who does not belong to the group of five said
they would prefer a “wait-and-see attitude and get to
the facts and determine if it would affect Eala’s
performance.
“We want
to determine first what the other governors are thinking
and we’ll take it from there,” he said.
The
Supreme Court ordered the disbarment of Eala last week
for carrying on an illicit affair with a married woman.
Eala was due from Tokushima, Japan, where he was head of
delegation of the San Miguel-Team Pilipinas that wound
up ninth in the the FIBA-Asia Men’s Championship.
Eala has
not issued any statement since the SC ordered his
disbarment.
Eala’s
case has been calendared by the league in a board
meeting next Monday but it was learned that a special
meeting among governors will be held at 9 a.m. today at
the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati to discuss the issue,
leading many to believe the case has taken on an urgent
note.
On
Sunday, the PBA Ethics Committee discussed the issue but
refused to make any judgment and passed any decision to
the board.
One of
the five governors who want Eala out said “no one is
indispensable and we have to take action.”
The same
governor said feelers have been sent to Eala to “take a
leave of absence” but added Eala “apparently wants to
stay.”
“We
would like him to take a leave and then tender his
resignation. Otherwise, we will make a motion not to
renew his contract,” the governor said.
Another
governor noted that while they don’t have the numbers
yet to oust Eala, he would propose that a vote of no
confidence be taken to determine if the board still
wants Eala to stay.
“There
is no such thing as a vote of no confidence in the
league but maybe this is the time to use it,” the
governor said.
No PBA
commissioner has been ousted since the league started in
1975. Eala took over from the late Emilio “Jun”
Bernardino Jr. in 2002. |
