REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES)
)S.S. CITY OF MANILA ) x----------------------------------------------------x AFFIDAVIT I, LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE, of legal age, Filipino, with official address at Cityland Tower I, Pablo Ocampo Sr., Street, Malate, Manila, Philippines, after having been duly sworn hereby depose and state: 1. I am the Chairman of the BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES. 2. The BAP is a Philippine sports association in the field of basketball that has been in existence for 73 years. The BAP was organized in 1936, and had 66 accredited member associations in the Philippines, enumerated in the list that BAP submitted to FIBA. BAP’s association with FIBA started with the participation of the Philippines in the Berlin Olympics in 1936. From its inception until 2007, it had been accredited by the FIBA, the world governing body for basketball. 3. In 2005, the Philippine Olympic Committee,6 at the instigation of some its then officers, particularly its President, Mr. Jose Cojuangco, Jr., induced the creation of a new faction to challenge BAP’s FIBA accreditation by organizing what became the Philippine Basketball Federation Inc. (PBFI). Mr. Cojuangco’s objective was to usurp BAP’s FIBA accreditation as the legitimate basketball association in the Philippines. He did this out of spite against the BAP whose members rejected his nominee for President of the organization. 4. The POC unlawfully suspended and subsequently expelled BAP from its roster of accredited national sports associations (NSAs) and notified FIBA of this action. When FIBA received the POC letter regarding BAP’s expulsion, Mr. Patrick Baumann, Secretary General of FIBA, wrote a letter to the POC President expressing his disgust with the unwarranted action of the POC in expelling BAP in order to replace it with PBF, a newcomer in Philippine basketball with no track record. In his letter dated July 3, 2005,7 Mr. Baumann wrote POC that: “We are very surprised and unhappy with this decision. Therefore, and until FIBA has not concluded its own investigation, please be informed that: i. FIBA will continue to recognize BAP as the legitimate National Federation affiliated to FIBA and responsible for basketball in the Philippines; ii. FIBA does not recognize your decision and thus will not transfer to the POC the responsibility for basketball in your country at this stage. Your request in this sense is thus rejected; iii. Participation in any official international basketball competition is not allowed with immediate effect; iv. FIBA reserves the right to legally challenge the POC decision in front of CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sports). 5. With the rejection by FIBA of PBF, the POC then encouraged the same faction to set up Pilipinas Basketball, Inc.9 which then lobbied for FIBA accreditation. FIBA again refused to recognize PB. Instead, FIBA recommended that the two organizations work together to amicably settle their differences. In the meantime, FIBA suspended the Philippines from joining and taking part in international basketball competitions sanctioned by it. 6. PB was composed of the same personalities as PBF, whose prior bid for accreditation was rebuked by FIBA. Like its predecessor, PB had no track record in the field of basketball. The Tokyo Communiqué 7. On August 28, 2006, at the sidelines of the 18th FIBA World Congress in Tokyo, Japan, BAP and PB announced a Joint Communiqué of even date11 which was witnessed by FIBA through Mr. Baumann. Under the Tokyo Communiqué, BAP and BP agreed “to merge and unite for the sake of basketball,” resulting into a single, unified basketball organization that would seek membership with the POC and would eventually take over membership in FIBA, “subject to the appropriate FIBA regulations on membership.”12 This happened after BAP conceded to a unification, to achieve the immediate lifting of the Philippines’ suspension from FIBA competitions. Thus: The Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) and the Pilipinas Basketball (PB), through their presidents Mr. Jose D. Lina Jr. and Mr. Bernardo Gabriel L. Atienza respectfully, jointly issue the following communiqué this 28th August 2006 in Tokyo, Japan, at the sideline of the 18th FIBA World Congress: 1. BAP and PB have agreed to merge and unite for the sake of basketball and the basketball-adoring Filipino peoplewho have clamored for the past more than one year for the unity and harmony in the Philippine basketball community; 2. The merger and unity of the two basketball entities shall result into a single united basketball organization that will seek membership with the Philippine Olympic Committee and will eventually take over the membership of BAP in the FIBA, subject to appropriate FIBA regulations on membership. 8. In the same communiqué, BAP and PB agreed to create within five days from August 28, 2006, or until September 2, 2006, a Three-Man Panel composed of the Presidents of BAP and PB and a third member, to undertake the following tasks: 3. A three-man panel, composed of the presidents of BAP and PB, and a third member to be agreed upon by both presidents, shall be created within five (5) days from the date of this communiqué to undertake the following tasks: a. To write and finalize the organization’s constitution and by-laws based on: 1) Democratic, country-wide and mass-based representation of the various sectors of the country involved in basketball namely: geographic, sectoral, professional, commercial, school-based, and special basketball sector. 2) Transparency and accountability of official acts. 3) Regular election of officers. b. To review, verify, and validate the list of members as submitted by PB and BAP to the FIBA Central Board Special Commission created to hear the Philippine case based on agreed set of criteria for membership formulated by the three-man panel. c. To convene the National Congress of the united organization and to oversee the election of officers. 9. The BAP’s then President, Jose Lina, Jr., and his counterpart in PB agreed to appoint Mr. Manuel V. Pangilinan16 as third member of the Panel. Mr. Pangilinan accepted the appointment in September 2006. 10. When the Panel convened to discuss the constitution and by-laws of the merged organization, Mr. Pangilinan suddenly demanded that he become the Chairman and President of the new organization. Thus, instead of acting as a neutral arbiter of the dispute between BAP and PB, Mr. Pangilinan became personally interested in leading the organization, resulting in a conflict of interest. 11. Mr. Pangilinan then instigated the creation of a new basketball association, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, Inc.17 which was not a merger of BAP and PB. BAP objected to the setting up of SBP, on the grounds that its creation was not in accord with the intent of the Tokyo Communiqué and that the organization of SBP was not ratified by the members of BAP. Mr. Lina, then BAP president, resigned in disgust from the Panel after Mr. Pangilinan openly remarked that he could not work with Mr. Lina. To Mr. Lina, this meant that Mr. Pangilinan was no longer a neutral arbiter but an interested party who wanted to impose his own organization to usurp the accreditation of BAP. 12. This conflict within the Panel prevented it from completing its tasks and resulted in the Philippines remaining suspended by FIBA. Thus, the implementation of the Tokyo Communiqué, which was an expression of BAP’s and PB’s intent to unite and which laid down the process for unification, was stalled and the Tokyo Communique, which was an expression of good intention although not a binding agreement was set aside. The Bangkok Agreement 13. At FIBA’s prodding, the Panel met in Bangkok, Thailand on February 4, 2007 and executed what became known as the Bangkok Agreement. The Agreement was witnessed by FIBA Asia President Shk Baud Bin Ali Al-Thani, FIBA Asia Secretary General Dato Yeoh Choo Hock, and FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann. 14. The Bangkok Agreement was negotiated and entered into by BAP and PB with the guidance and imprimatur of FIBA. The Panel agreed to the following “final terms and conditions” of the unity between BAP and PB for submission to FIBA: “MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT" “WHEREAS, the 3-man panel has met in Bangkok, Thailand on February 4, 2007 and agreed on the final terms and conditions of the unity between BAP and BP. “WHEREAS, the 3-man panel wishes to document such terms and conditions for submission to FIBA. “NOW, WHEREFORE, the parties hereby confirm and acknowledge, on behalf of BAP and PB, as follows: “1. Corporate Name “The corporate name of SAMAHANG BASKETBOL NG PILIPINAS INC. shall be amended to read: “BAP-SAMAHANG BASKETBOL NG PILIPINAS INC.” “2. Removal of Officers “Officers of BAP-SAMAHANG BASKETBOL NG PILIPINAS INC. (SBP) may be removed by the vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the Board of Trustees. For this purpose, Article XII, Section 3 of the By-Laws shall be amended to reflect this voting requirement. “3. Membership “All bona fide members of BAP and PB appearing in the lists submitted by BAP and PB to FIBA pursuant to the Tokyo communiqué shall be admitted as “members”, instead of “probationary members” of SBP. “4. Nominations “(a) BAP shall have the rights to nominate for the following positions: “(1) Chairman of the Board of Trustees “(2) Treasurer “(b) PB shall have the rights to nominate for the following positions: “(1) Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees “(2) Corporate Secretary “5. Officers “The following officers shall be elected by BAP and PB at the Unity Congress and will serve as such during the Transitory Period referred to in the By-Laws of SBP and until their successors are elected and qualifies: “Chairman – to be named at the Unity Congress “Vice Chairman- VICTORICO P. VARGAS “President - MANUEL V. PANGILINAN “Secretary – MARIVIC R. AÑONUEVO “Treasurer – to be named at the Unity Congress “Legal Counsel – Atty. Bonifacio Alentajan “The Board of Trustees shall conduct an executive search in order to select an appropriate neutral candidate for the position of Executive Director. The new Board of Trustees shall elect the successor of the President from among themselves not later than the expiration of the Transitory Period.” The signatories to the Bangkok Agreement were Mr. Christian Tan and Atty. Bonifacio Alentajan, representing BAP, Mr. Jose Capistrano, for PB, and Mr. Pangilinan, as the third and supposedly neutral member. 15. Pursuant to the Bangkok Agreement, which under its terms constituted the “final terms and conditions of the unity between BAP and PB,” Mr. Pangilinan was to be named President of BAP-SBP, although he was neither a member of BAP nor of PB. Mr. Pangilinan conceded the position of Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the BAP-SBP as it was reserved to the BAP’s nominee, who was Mr. Luis R. Villafuerte.24 The officers of BAP-SBP were to serve only during the transitory period, i.e., from their election on February 5, 2007 until the conduct of the 2008 National Congress.25 After this period, BAP-SBP shall hold its first regular elections of the Board of Trustees and officers of the BAP-SBP. 16. In the first regular elections to be held in 2008 (one year after the interim elections held at the Unity Congress in 2007), BAP and PB agreed that the lists of members submitted to FIBA shall be entitled to vote and to elect the regular board of trustees and officers to replace the interim Board of Trustees and officers. The lists placed the total number of members at 87, with 66 coming from BAP and 21 from PB. Since there were six organizations common to the lists respectively submitted by BAP and PB, the overall number of members in the lists would only be 81. As stipulated in the Bangkok Agreement, which constitutes the final terms and conditions of the unity between BAP and PB, “all bonafide members of BAP and PB appearing in the lists submitted by BAP and PB to FIBA pursuant to the Tokyo communiqué shall be admitted as “members,” instead of “probationary members.” 17. In a letter by Mr. Baumann to the BAP-SBP President, Mr. Pangilinan, FIBA stated that the validation of members shall be made “after the transition period.”30 This was consistent with Clause 3 of the Bangkok Agreement, which stipulated that “(a)ll bona fide members of BAP and PB appearing in the lists submitted by BAP and PB to FIBA pursuant to the Tokyo Communiqué shall be admitted as ‘members,’ instead of ‘probationary members’ of SBP.” The February 5, 2007 Unity Congress 18. At the Unity Congress held by BAP and PB on February 5, 2007, the following officers were elected pursuant to the Bangkok Agreement: (a) Chairman: Luis R. Villafuerte (b) Vice-Chairman: Victorico P. Vargas (c) President: Manuel V. Pangilinan (d) Secretary: Marievic R. Añonuevo (e) Treasurer: Christian Tan (f) Legal Counsel: Bonifacio Alentajan. 19. The BAP representatives at the Unity Congress expected Mr. Pangilinan and his group to accept the result of the election. However, in spite of his signature in the minutes of the Unity Congress showing that Mr. Villafuerte was elected as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of BAP-SBP, Mr. Pangilinan refused to recognize Mr. Villafuerte, repudiating not only the provisions of the Bangkok Agreement but also the results of the Unity Congress, whose minutes he signed as supposed neutral third member of the Panel. 20. In addition, Mr. Pangilinan refused to comply with the other stipulations of the Bangkok Agreement, such as: (a) the Board of Trustees shall conduct an executive search to select an appropriate, neutral candidate for the position of Executive Director;32 and (b) the Board of Trustees of BAP-SBP shall consist of 12 nominees of BAP and 12 nominees of PB, with Mr. Pangilinan as the 25th member, the intent being that he would remain a neutral participant during the transition period. Mr. Pangilinan also refused to comply with the express stipulations of the Bangkok Agreement that for SBP to be recognized by BAP, its Articles of Incorporation shall be amended, such that the corporate name of SBP would be changed to “BAP-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, Inc.” The First Regular Election 21. When the one-year transition period from and after the Unity Congress was about to end, Mr. Villafuerte, in his capacity as Chairman of BAP-SBP, called for a general membership meeting on May 17, 2008.33 The purpose of the meeting was (a) to obtain approval of the members entitled to participate in the election of the first regular Board of Trustees and officers; and (b) to set the National Congress for the election of officers on June 4, 2008. All the members present approved a resolution to issue the Notice of the National Congress of BAP-SBP. 22. At the National Congress of BAP-SBP on June 4, 2008, Mr. Villafuerte and several BAP representatives34 were elected as trustees and officers to serve for a term of four years, as follows: “Executive Officers “Chairman - Luis R. Villafuerte “Vice Chairman - Wilson T. Young “President - Prospero A. Pichay, Jr. “Executive Director - Christian D. Tan “Secretary - Teresita D. Abundo “Legal Counsel - Atty. Bonifacio A. Alentajan A total of 64 out of the 81 members, or 80% of the members in the lists submitted by BAP and PB to FIBA, attended the June 4, 2008 Congress. 23. Mr. Pangilinan and his group, on the other hand, ignored the National Congress and convened their own election on June 12, 2008, during which Mr. Pangilinan and his nominees were purportedly elected as officers of BAP-SBP, as follows: Chairman - Gov. Oscar S. Moreno Vice Chairman - Victorico P. Vargas President - Manuel V. Pangilinan Executive Director - Jose Emmanuel M. Eala Secretary - Marievic G. Ramos-Anonuevo Treasurer - Dr. Ernesto Jay G. Adalem Only 17 basketball organizations attended the June 12, 2008 Congress called by the group of Mr. Pangilinan. Out of the 17 attendees, only five were members of BAP included in the lists submitted to FIBA, while five were new members and not among those in the said lists.38 Hence, only 12 of the attendees were in the lists of members submitted to FIBA. Disenfranchisement of BAP Members 24. As stated, the Bangkok Agreement clearly provides that “(a)ll bona fide members of BAP and PB appearing in the lists submitted by BAP and PB to FIBA pursuant to the Tokyo Communiqué shall be admitted as ‘members,’ instead of ‘probationary members’ of SBP.”39 This simply means that those in the lists will have the full rights of a regular member, including the right to vote and be voted for in the election of the regular officers and trustees of BAP-SBP. This was the intention of the representatives of BAP and PB who negotiated for and who eventually signed the Bangkok Agreement. 25. In ordinary usage, the word “regular” means “complete, thorough, unmitigated,”40 while “probationary” means “being tried out” or “on a trial basis or on probation.”41 The word “probation” is defined as “the condition of being subjected to such testing, examination or evaluation” or “the action of subjecting an individual to a period of testing and trial as to be able to ascertain the individual’s fitness for something (as … a membership in a particular organization) …” In other words, probationary members are not regular members and do not possess the full rights of membership as regular members. 26. Stated differently, when it was declared in the Bangkok Agreement that all bona fide members of BAP and PB appearing in the lists submitted by BAP and PB to FIBA “shall be admitted as ‘members,’ instead of ‘probationary members’” of BAP-SBP, it bestowed upon such organizations “complete, thorough and unmitigated membership,” with all its appurtenant rights. Mr. Pangilinan ignored this stipulation and insisted on a simulated “validation” procedure to eliminate the regular members submitted to FIBA who had the right to vote in the first regular election after the transition period. 27. The “validation” scheme proposed by Mr. Pangilinan and his group, which they formalized through the by-laws of SBP (not BAP-SBP), was obviously intended to decimate BAP’s representation in BAP-SBP and to remove the members who were perceived to be not supportive of the leadership of Mr. Pangilinan. In the first place, there is nothing in the Bangkok Agreement that authorized the Panel to “validate” the members in the lists submitted to FIBA by submitting their names to the Nomination and Membership Committee of SBP, in case the Panel failed to perform its task within the period given to it. 28. After the supposed validation process, the group of Mr. Pangilinan unilaterally declared that only six out of the 66 BAP members in the list submitted to FIBA qualified as active members with the right to vote and relegated 60 as either “associate members” or outright “non-members” with no voting rights. 29. Thus, in the National Congress held by Mr. Pangilinan and his group on June 12, 2008, only the following attended and voted for them as officers of BAPSBP: 1. Philippine Collegiate Champions League 2. Pinoy Basketbol, Inc. 3. Baguio-Benguet Educational athletic League 4. National Collegiate Athletic Association-South 5. Iloilo Basketball League 6. Visayas Amateur Athletic Association 7. Cagayan de Oro Basketball Federation 8. El Federacion Basketbolista de Zamboanga 9. Philippine Basketball League 10. Philippine Basketball Association 11. Cagayan de Oro Schools Athletic Association 12. Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. 13. National Athletic Association of Schools, 14. National Collegiate Athletic Association 15. University Athletic Association of the Philippines 16. Small Basketeers Philippines, Inc. 17. Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association As stated, only five of these attendees were BAP members44 and five out of the 17 above were new members45 and not in the lists submitted to FIBA. All in all, a total of 60 BAP members in the lists submitted to FIBA were disenfranchised by Mr. Pangilinan and his group. 30. In contrast, a total of 65 BAP-SBP members46 attended and participated in the election during the National Congress and Election of Officers held on June 4, 2008 by Messrs. Villafuerte, et al., pursuant to the Bangkok Agreement. These were: 1. Federation of School Sports Associations of the Philippines (FESSAP) 2. State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SCUAA) 3. Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) 4. National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA) 5. Philippine Inter-School Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (PISCUAA) 6. Colleges and Universities Sports Association (CUSA) 7. University and Collegiate Athletic Association (UCAA) 8. Universities, Schools, Colleges Athletic Association (USCAA) 9. Universities, Schools, Colleges Athletic Association (USCAA-South) 10. Cebu Basketball League (CBL) 11. Cebu Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) 12. National Basketball League (NBL) 13. Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) 14. Davao basketball League (DBL) 15. Davao’s Inter-Church Basketball League (ICBL-Davao) 16. Women Basketball League-Davao (WBL-Davao) 17. Leyte Amateur Athletic Association (LAAA) 18. Western Leyte Amateur Athletic Association (WLAAA) 19. Southern Leyte Amateur Athletic Association (SLAAA) 20. Eastern Samar Amateur Athletic Association (ESAAA) 21. Northern Samar Amateur Athletic Association (NSAAA) 22. Samar Amateur Athletic Association (SAAA) 23. Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA) 24. Manila Amateur Sports Association (MASA) 25. Philippine Integrated Chinese Athletic Association (PICAA) 26. Zamboanga City Sports Athletic Foundation (ZCSADF) 27. Zamboanga Basketball League (ZBL) 28. United Regional Basketball League (URBL) 29. Bicol Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (BCUAA) 30. National Collegiate Athletic Association-South (NCAA-South) 31. Region Eight Administrative League (REAL) 32. Air 21 Express Basketball Club 33. Tanduay Basketball Club (TBC) 34. Rizal Basketball League (RBL) 35. Rizal Schools, Colleges Athletic Association (RISCAA) 36. Southern Luzon Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SLCUAA) 37. Southern Tagalog Students Basketball Championship (STSBC) 38. Taguig-Pateros Private Schools Athletic Association (TPPSAA) 39. Bohol Schools Amateur Athletic Association (BSAAA) 40. Bohol Basketball Association (BBA) 41. Bohol Professional Basketball League (BPBL) 42. Santa Rosa Basketball League (SRBL) 43. Quezon Province Athletic Association (QPAA) 44. Palawan Inter-College Basketball Championship (PICBC) 45. Cavite Schools Cultural Athletic Association (CavSCAA) 46. Cavite Sports – Inter-School Basketball League (CS-ISBL) 47. Filipino Chinese Amateur Athletic Association (FCAAF) 48. Filipino Chinese Amateur Basketball Association (FICABA) 49. Panay Island Basketball Association (PIBA) 50. Baguio Benguet Amateur Basketball League (BBABL) 51. Basketball Association of Laguna (BAL) 52. Millennium Basketball League (MBL) 53. Butuan City Inter-Schools Association (BCISA) 54. Butuan Inter-Secondary School Athletic Association (BISSAA) 55. Caraga Region School and Colleges Basketball League (CRSCBL) 56. Surigao City Inter-School Basketball League (SUCISBL) 57. Biliran Amateur Athletic Association (BAAA) 58. Universities and Colleges Athletic Association of Pangasinan (UCAAP) 59. Baguio-Benguet Eduacational Athletic League (BBEAL) 60. Bicol Basketball League (BBL) 61. Iloilo City Schools Athletic Association (ICSAA) 62. Tiong Lian Basketball League (TLBL) 63. Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. 64. Cagayan De Oro Private School Athletic Association 65. Western Samar Amateur Athletic Association (WSAAA) 66. Zamboanga City Sports and Arts Association (ZCSAA) Violations of the Bangkok Agreement 31. As stated, Mr. Pangilinan and his group violated the Bangkok Agreement in the following manner: (a) Mr. Pangilinan refused to recognize Mr. Villafuerte as the BAP’s nominee Chairman for BAP-SBP, elected during the Unity Congress in February 2007. (b) Mr. Pangilinan and his group reneged on the clear terms of the Bangkok Agreement and disenfranchised 60 BAP members in the supposed National Congress on June 12, 2008. (c) They violated the representation ratio decreed by the Bangkok Agreement. The Board of Trustees of BAP-SBP should consist of 12 nominees of BAP and 12 nominees of PB, with Mr. Pangilinan as the 25th member, the intent being that he would remain a neutral arbiter during the transition period, which did not happen since he became interested in the position and purged the BAP-SBP of members perceived to be against his leadership. (d) Mr. Pangilinan and his group refused to amend the corporate name of SBP to “BAP-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, Inc.” As this brief is written, the group of Mr. Pangilinan continues to publicly represent that the entity created by the Bangkok Agreement is simply “Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, Inc.” or “SBP”47 to the exclusion of BAP. Cases before the Philippine courts 32. On June 27, 2008, to avail of the remedies under Philippine law, Messrs. Villafuerte, et al. filed a Petition48 with the Regional Trial Court in Manila, docketed as Civil Case No. 08-119546, for the nullification of the June 12, 2008 elections held by Mr. Pangilinan and his group. BAP resorted to this action as it was unaware of any recourse to FIBA to nullify the actions of Mr. Pangilinan and his group. Upon due proceedings, the RTC, on September 3, 2008, issued a Decision granting the RTC Petition, ruling that: “ACCORDINGLY, finding merit in the petition, the same is hereby granted.” “The National Congress convened by the respondents is hereby declared null and void. Consequently, the election of officers at the said meeting is similarly declared to be without force and effect. “SO ORDERED.” As a result, the SBP National Congress and election on June 12, 2008 were voided and Messrs. Villafuerte, et al. were declared as the duly elected officers of BAP-SBP. 33. Mr. Pangilinan and his group refused to recognize the court’s ruling and appealed it to the Court of Appeals.52 On November 18, 2008, the appellate court ruled to reverse and set aside the RTC Decision: “WHEREFORE, the foregoing considered, the instant petition is hereby GRANTED and the assailed Decision REVERSED and SET ASIDE. Accordingly, the petition for declaration of nullity of elections file with the court a quo is hereby DISMISSED. “SO ORDERED.” 34. On April 13, 2009, Messrs. Villlafuerte, et al. appealed by certiorari to the Supreme Court. In its Resolution dated June 1, 2009,55 the Supreme Court directed Mr. Pangilinan and his group to comment on the SC Petition. To date, Messrs. Villafuerte, et al. have not received a copy of the Comment of Mr. Pangilinan and his group. 35. After the filing of the Comment, the Supreme Court may direct BAP to file a reply to the said Comment. The Supreme Court may then give due course to BAP Petition and require the parties to submit Memoranda or resolve the case on the basis of the submissions already made of record. 36. Under Philippine law, the filing of an appeal by certiorari with the Supreme Court under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court of the Philippines, stays the CA Decision and prevents it from becoming final and executory.56 This is particularly important since, as stated, the Supreme Court has acted on the SC Petition by requiring Mr. Pangilinan and his group to comment thereon. In other words, there is no definitive decision to speak of on who are the rightful officers of BAP-SBP as of this writing. The issue is still subject to the eventual resolution by the Supreme Court. However, BAP is cognizant that any ruling by the Supreme Court of the Philippines on the validity of the National Congress and the election held by SBP on June 12, 2008 will be binding only on BAP and SBP as parties to the case, but not on FIBA. Further, affianth sayeth naught. Done in City of Manila, Philippines, October 1, 2009. LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE Chairman BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES
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October 2022
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