Sporting Chance

Now that the smoke of the Sonny Alvarado case has cleared, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) might consider rethinking its policy on the eligibility of Fil-foreigners.

Under the PBA's rules, a Fil-foreigner is allowed to play as a local if he has a Certificate of Recognition (CR) from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and a confirmation from the Department of Justice (DOJ). Additionally, he must submit documents authenticating his Filipino roots to the PBA for open scrutiny.

By definition, a Fil-foreigner is at least half-Filipino, meaning one of his parents must be a full-blooded Filipino. Less than half won't do. But a half-Filipino will not qualify for a CR if his full-blooded Filipino parent was no longer a Filipino citizen at the time of his birth. That technicality will eliminate half-Filipino prospects from ever playing in the PBA as locals.

In Alvarado's case, he doesn't qualify as a Fil-foreigner because based on the BI's findings, he has no trace of Filipino heritage. The startling thing is when he was found out, Alvarado didn't even bother to dispute the findings. For him, playing in the PBA was just another episode in his basketball odyssey. With his deportation, Alvarado will leave and look for another playing job -- that's the life of an "import."

Who masterminded Alvarado's masquerade? A source whispered that an American "operator" fabricates birth certificates for a fee in Dallas and offers supposed Fil-foreigners to unsuspecting PBA teams. So it's probably no coincidence that Al Segova and Alvarado came from the University of Texas.

What about foreigners born in the Philippines, like Alex Compton of Cornell, Dennis Rodman's half-brother Philander III of Boise State, and Tony Rutland of Wake Forest? And what about naturalized citizens or Americans married to Filipinas? Do they qualify as locals in the PBA? Under the rules, they don't.

Of course, the PBA is under no obligation to follow the Philippine Constitution in declaring who's eligible and who's not as a local. It has the authority to set its own eligibility guidelines.

To make things simple, I think the PBA should allow players who are at least half-Filipino to see action as locals -- regardless of whether their Filipino parents were still Filipino citizens when they were born. After all, what's important is the bloodline -- the roots not a document of citizenship. This means in the case of a half-Filipino whose Filipino parent was no longer a Filipino citizen when he was born, a CR will no longer be a requisite, only a Special Work Permit from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), to play in the PBA.

And to avoid complications, perhaps the PBA should police its own ranks without bothering the BI. Maybe, the requirement of a CR should be scrapped altogether -- as well as the DOJ confirmation.

I also think foreigners born here should be allowed to play as locals. After all, how many could they be? And they had no choice on the matter -- where they were born was something they didn't choose. That will open the door for Compton, Rodman (not Dennis), and Rutland to play here. In a sense, they can also claim Filipino roots, as differential from heritage.

As for naturalized citizens or Americans married to Filipinas (like Bobby Parks and Norman Black), I think they shouldn't be allowed to play as locals because otherwise, this opportunity might be abused.

My proposal is to allow players who are at least half-Filipino, regardless of their citizenship, and foreigners born here to see action in the PBA as locals. That's putting it plain and simple.