UAAP Volleyball

TIMELINE: How the UP volleyball team’s ‘mismanagement’ issue unraveled

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TIMELINE: How the UP volleyball team’s ‘mismanagement’ issue unraveled

STRUGGLING. The UP Fighting Maroons remain winless early in the UAAP season.

UAAP

Complaining of poor management, the UP women’s volleyball squad’s grievances put a spotlight on other varsity sports issues the state university needs to address

MANILA, Philippines – Social media lit up on Wednesday night, March 1, after allegations of mismanagement of the UP women’s volleyball team surfaced.

In a four-page letter dated January 29, 2023, addressed to then UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo, the team complained about the “lack of funds and sense of urgency from the current management.” 

The letter was signed by 21 members of the squad.

The issues – which the team listed in detail, from “delayed and reduced monthly allowance” to  “small serving of food” to “poor injury coordination and treatment” – prompted the volleyball team to request Nemenzo to allow the Nowhere to Go but Up Foundation (NTGBUP) to “take charge of the overall management” of the squad. 

The NTGBUP, a group of UP alumni, primarily supports the men’s basketball team, which eventually won a UAAP championship in Season 84 in 2022. 

‘Band-aid solutions’ 

The UP women’s volleyball players said they’re “dissatisfied” with how they’re being managed and treated, citing team manager Angela Villamil in particular for “ignoring basic needs, neglecting injuries and failing to communicate to the team the status” of the student-athletes’ benefits.

In the January letter, the team said it raised all concerns to Villamil, the Varsity Sports Program, and the Office of Student Affairs. 

However, the team said only “band-aid solutions rather than sustainable actions that can support the team” were provided.

This was just less than a month before the UAAP volleyball season kicked off on February 25.

Other complaints include unsettled dormitory fees, lack of academic support, failure to follow COVID-19 isolation procedures, and poor logistics that force players to find their own way of going to practice in Pasig, like using ride-hailing apps paid from their own pockets.

The letter also cited Villamil’s alleged favoritism and sarcastic attitude toward the members of the team.

Here is the full scope of the complaint:

Administrative issues

According to new NTGBUP chairman Jed Eva III, the foundation also received a similar letter from the women’s volleyball team in January.

The board met on January 30 and passed a resolution to help fund the women’s volleyball team.

On February 1, the members of the team, the Office of the Diliman Chancellor, College of Human Kinetics (CHK), and the NTGBUP conducted a sit-down discussion, where the student-athletes repeated their concerns.

The school administration, though, denied the Maroons’ request of a change in management, citing the “administrative issues involving the funds” meant for the volleyball team. 

The NTGBUP, in a statement released on March 2, said although the team’s request for the foundation to take over the squad’s management was “not granted,” the university officials assured the players that “they would study and address” the issues raised.

“Before the meeting ended, we expressed our willingness to assist the team and we informed the players that we had already approved the release of funds [for the team],” the NTGBUP statement said. 

Legal processes

Just before Nemenzo’s term as chancellor ended on March 1, he appointed CHK dean Francis “Kiko” Diaz to concurrently be the interim director of the Office for Athletics and Sports Development (OASD), as announced in a press release sent on the same day.

The OASD – established on October 26, 2015 following Executive Order No. 15-02 issued by former UP president Alfredo E. Pascual – aims to oversee the varsity teams’ welfare, including addressing their academic and sports needs and generating resources. 

However, on the same day of the announcement, UP vice president for legal affairs Abraham Rey M. Acosta said Nemenzo cannot appoint Diaz as a transitory head.

According to Acosta, it should be up to the next Diliman chancellor to decide.

Prof. Jose Wendell Capili, UP vice president for public affairs, said in a statement also released on March 1, that the appointment of Diaz is “not in accordance with current legal processes in the appointment of UP personnel, and the use of interim appointments is reserved to appointments that require Board of Regents approval.”

The NTGBUP agreed that the “legal issues” should be addressed.

“The challenges that continue to confront the [UP women’s volleyball team] highlight the need for a full-time office tasked to oversee the welfare of the University’s over 1,000 athletes. This is the rationale behind the [OASD]…

“The prompt and proper implementation of this issuance, in our view, could have prevented many of the issue now faced by the [volleyball team], as well as other UP varsity squads,” the foundation said in a statement.

“Though the outgoing Diliman Chancellor launched the OASD last Tuesday just before the last day of his term, we share the apprehension of those in the UP community over the legal issues surrounding the questionable organization of the said office.” 

For the meantime, Capili said the university “will continue to work with the varsity teams and various support groups to address the concerns and needs of our athletes.” 

In the end, that’s only what the UP women’s volleyball players wanted. But seeing all the administrative and legal hurdles, there’s no telling how long they should wait. – Rappler.com

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