Ming Ramos blasts MYG for use of substandard equipment

The badminton event of the Manila Youth Games (MYG) will be using substandard plastic shuttlecocks like the one used in the PNYG "Batang Pinoy" that received a lot of criticisms from the participating shuttlers, coaches and officials.

The technical committee of the much-publicized MYG refused to recognize authorized Philippine Badminton Association officials in spite a letter of appeal from PBA president former First Lady Amelita "Ming" Ramos to the chairman of the Manila Youth Games Ali Atienza.

In her letter to Atienza dated Feb. 11, Ramos made her appeal to the MYG chairman of the organizing committee to notify the chairman of the PBA-Grassroots Development Program for the technical aspect of the sport should they decide to include badminton. But in spite the appeal, the meeting with the technical officials last Tuesday, the technical committee continues to acknowledge a non-PBA authorized representative in running the badminton tournament.

Also in Feb. 11, Mrs. Ramos issued a memorandum to Teodolfo Villaflor, a licensed umpire of the PBA for not seeking any authorization from his mother association to represent his NSA to the meetings of MYG. As to date Villaflor is about to be suspended by the Philippine Badminton Association.

Mrs. Ramos also stated in her letter that the badminton association is implementing systems and protocol to discipline badminton technical officials.

Coaches and players in the Manila Youth Games will be deprived of playing an updated national and international standards of shuttlecock thus their development will be hampered by substandard playing paraphernalia.

Plastic shuttlecock is only for fun and recreation and never used in competitions. Replaced PSC commissioner "Weena" Lim introduced using of the plastic shuttlecock in the PSC "Batang Pinoy."

She was a badminton player and she herself must know the difference of the plastic and the real one. She had set a precedent that will never be admitted by the local and international badminton bodies.

Technical officials to officiate in the badminton event of the MYG will be bound for lifetime suspension by the Philippine Badminton Association – Grassroots Development Program Umpires, Referees and Judges Association.