Bartolomes take UAAP
& UST to court
by rick olivares
The second shot against the UAAP’s controversial
two-year residency rule has been fired.
Domingo “Vic” Bartolome filed on behalf of his
daughter, Anna Dominque, currently 17 years old and a minor, a complaint with
the application for a temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary
prohibitory and mandatory injunction against UAAP and UST for it’s
controversial two-year residency rule.
The complaint (Civil Case No. R-QZN-13-02773) was
filed last Wednesday, August 28, at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court with
the assistance of the officer of Senator Pia Cayetano who has been very vocal
against the rule.
The complaint comes four months and 27 days after the
initial senate hearing on the controversial rule (last April 1).
In that public hearing, I was invited by Sen.
Cayetano as a resource speaker after she read my series of articles (titled
‘The Hypocrisy Rule’) that was published in both the Business Mirror,
abs-cbnnews.com, and bleachersbrew.
It was during my talk where I introduced the
Bartolomes who along with cager Jerie Pingoy was affected by the rule. Mikee
Bartolome is a former UAAP Juniors MVP in Girls Swimming where she led UST to
the championship. After graduation, she opted to move to UP where family has
gone for college as a tradition.
However, because of the two-year residency rule that
was a major upgrade from the previous one-year residency rule, Bartolome would
not be able to compete immediately while losing her scholarship from UP.
After that hearing, there were a series of closed-door
meetings that were held to come to a conclusion on the rule that prevents
athletes from immediately playing for a college that is different from their
high school.
The UAAP’s response was to institute a release
mechanism wherein an athlete can immediately suit up if he or she is released
by its mother school to another UAAP school.
When asked why it took them all this time to file the
case, Mr. Bartolome said that he exhausted all the regular channels for UST to
release his daughter but the university’s board representative, Fr. Emerito De
Sagon, OFP, refused to sign the release papers.
With the UAAP swimming competition due to start in a
few weeks, the Bartolomes made one last ditch effort to secure then release.
When it was rebuffed the other week, they went back to Sen. Cayetano’s office
to seek help in filing the injunction.
Incidentally, the Pingoys have opted not to join the
filing of the injunction against the UAAP.
According to Sen. Cayetano, the injunction is not
only to allow Mikee to suit up but to also seek the permanent repeal of the
law.
This is the second time in less than a month that the
UAAP has been served a Temporary Restraining Order by the courts. Last August
16, Judge Ma. Rita Bascos Sarabia ordered UP Junior Maroons basketball player
Joshua General to be reinstated after the UAAP prevented him from suiting up
after he exhausted the four-year playing years rule within five high school
years. The TRO on the UAAP is for a 20-day period.
In the case of the Bartolomes, Sen. Cayetano said the
complaint is to also issue a permanent injunction and declaration of nullity of
the UAAP’s two-year residency rule. In the same vein, the Senator also believes
the “release mechanism” is still unacceptable. “It is still robbing the youth
of their freedom of choice.”
The complaint was submitted to the UAAP and to UST
this afternoon.
A hearing has been set this coming Monday, September
2, at 2pm at Branch 226 of the QCRTC. According to Sen. Cayetano, a decision
should be arrived at a day or two after the initial hearing.
The Bartolomes hope to make the cut for the UAAP’s
player eligibility meeting set for September 4. “UP is going for a five-peat in
swimming,” said Mikee Bartolome. “I would like to be a part of the school’s
drive to make history.”
Attempts to get a statement or a reaction from UAAP
representatives proved ineffective as they have not yet read the complaint.
---------------------------
My other pieces on the Two-Year Residency Rule:
This is where I did my research on the students moving from high school to college.
The hypocrisy of the rule and how some schools take rejection from their own athletes.
This is my report to the Senate where I introduced the Bartolomes and their plight.
Yan yan yan...ang mapapala ng board na knee jerk reactor ng kung anu-anong haphazardly-thought of or amended rule kapag di na-se-serve ang agenda nila. Hindi naman kapakanan ng liga ang habol nila. So...puro habla talaga ang aabutin nyan.
ReplyDeleteMabuti pa i-address nila yong proliferation ng imports sa UAAP. Wala naming maidudulot sa bansa at basketball natin yan mga yan. At kapag bumalik na sa kani knilang bansa yan mga yan, hini naman relevant yong edukasyon na tinanggap nyan mga yan no. Ibang usapin yong fil-from-any- country. May dugong pinoy yong mga yan. At kung gugustuhin nilang mag-aral dito imbes na sa ibang bansa, maglaro, makapasa, at talagang matuto, they are most welcome. Besides pwede sila sa PBA at FIBA world cup lol Yong imports, nothing short (or tall lol) of naturalization will make them play for the country. Hidi pwedeng sabay sabay. Isa isa lang. At tanong pa don, gusto ba nilang maging pinoy? I doubt.
ReplyDeleteI think instituting a League wide standard to what constitutes securing a release from previous school should be taken into consideration.
ReplyDeleteThough I still wonder why a student, upon graduation from a school would need a release considering that graduation merits the fact that the student has fulfilled all of his/her responsibilities and has no further obligations to his/her high school.
College as they say is another clean slate, and should be kept that way.