THE other week the Federation de International Volleyball (FIVB) sent a memo signifying their recognition of the newly organized Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc. (LVP) as the national sports association. It was puzzling because I thought that, technically, there is the existing NSA in the Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) even if the international federation, along with the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), seems unhappy with the current local leadership.
What makes this a bad comedy is that officials from this PVF left and formed a new PVF! Then, when there were problems, they went back to the old PVF. Is this even possible? Is this ethical or even legal? Does this smack of desperation of wanting to be in power?
Did the FIVB memo solve the problem? Far from it. It is now officially, to borrow military jargon, a SNAFU (if you don’t know what that acronym means go look it up and, as crass as what it may stand for, it is a massive understatement).
In a somewhat surprising twist just the other day, the top dog of the Philippine Olympic Committee asked one of its officials who has been working to fix the volleyball mess to accommodate two of the supposed officers of the embattled Philippine Football Federation (PFF) into the new LVP. But it doesn’t end there, this top dog unequivocally asked for the removal of one of the Philippine Super Liga (PSL) official who is supposed to be part of the LVP.
It so happens that this PSL officer is also with the AVC.
It seems that the two PVF officials asked a certain congressman to intercede and bypass this POC official to go straight to the boss. If this is true, then does this mean they are jumping ship even if they recently went through alleged elections (according to a coach who was present in that proceeding, it was all for show and rigged)?
Now, if so, this isn’t the first time about jumping ship. One of them previously went to this congressman who first asked the POC official involved in the volleyball mess if this PVF officer can be accommodated as secretary-general in the new LVP! So this is twice now! It really is every man for himself.
The way I look at it, asking for the removal of this AVC-PSL official is doing a Shylock—demanding their pound of flesh—by way of this ouster.
It is entirely possible they believe that this AVC-PSL official engineered these current troubles by “influencing” the AVC and FIVB into calling for an investigation into the PVF. And the record is out there as the letter from the AVC to the POC clearly states this PSL-AVC official.
And some of the LVP people are not enamored of this PSL-AVC officer who they have had run-ins before. But it seems for these other LVP officials, he is the lesser evil as opposed to the PVF men who they do not like for various reasons.
However, will this new development fly? In my opinion, the AVC will protect its own. And what that means, hell, there are many scenarios.
One is they will altogether not approve both the LVP and the PVF, effectively ending any Philippine participation in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games.
I understand from a former PVF official who is no longer active that we came close to being suspended before for various offenses.
What is happening in our NSAs is really a microcosm of what is going on in the national government, and for ages now.
Who am I rooting for? No one. I just hope the people up there do what is right for the sport and that the parties with agendas are put in their place.