Barbers maintains 3 more Fil-foreigners under fire

A Senate investigating committee has unearthed more evidence showing that three other Fil-foreigners – Albert "Ali" Peek of Alaska, Andy Seigle of Purefoods and Dorian Pena of San Miguel – had submitted dubious documents, bringing to seven the number of PBA players who could face immediate deportation for failure to meet citizenship requirements.

Sen. Robert Barbers, chairman of the Senate committee on games, amusement and sports, said charges will be filed against the three.

Earlier, Barbers said Paul Asia Taulava of Talk N Text, Jonathan William Ordonio of Alaska, Rudy Hatfield of Coca-Cola, and Eric Menk of Ginebra were found to have submitted falsified documents.

"More heads will roll and I will announce the discrepancies of the other documents in the next Senate hearing together with our recommendations," Barbers said.

The investigating committee created earlier by Barbers checked on the local civil registrar of the various provinces identified by the Fil-Am players as the origin of their grandparents and parents but found no existing records on the certificate of live birth and even death certificates of their grandparents.

"I don’t know how these players can rebut the overwhelming evidence that we have. These players can still play as long as there is no order yet from the government and their papers are still under close scrutiny," Barbers said.

Barbers also said officials of the Bureau of Immigration could be charged administratively and criminally for their laxity in the processing of the papers of Fil-Am players.

He said his committee would recommend the filing of charges against erring BI officials during the final Senate hearing this April.

"There are some lapses in the document and we will incorporate these findings in our recommendation on the next hearing. The next step will be the job of the BID and DOJ," Barbers said.

Barbers said reports of the investigating team, which conducted surveys and one-on-one interviews with local officials, residents and the alleged relatives being claimed by Taulava, Ordonio, Hatfield and Menk, showed that the names of the people declared by the four Fil-Am players as their grandparents have no death and birth certificates in the civil registrar’s offices of the provinces mentioned.

Barbers said Pauline Anna Hernandez Mateaki Taulava, which was earlier claimed by Taulava as his grandmother as residing in San Jose, Northern Samar, has no existing records in Samar.

Taulava was one of the two PBA Fil-Am players who were suspended earlier after testing positive for as banned substance.

On the other hand, Barbers said Hatfield failed to confirm his roots from Luna, La Union, adding that the local civil registrar’s office also has no records of the birth and death certificates of Hatfield’s alleged grandfather.

Barbers said Hatfield’s grandfather, whom he identified as Don Valdez, is not even known to the residents in Luna, La Union. He said Ordonio, who claimed that he hails from Sta. Lucia, Ilocos Sur, is not a legitimate resident of Ilocos Sur because residents carrying surnames of Ordonio are not using "i" but "ñ".

Barbers said that Mauro Estrada Ordonio whom Ordonio earlier claimed as his grandfather has no birth and death certificates records in the civil registrar of Bauan, La Union.

He said that a background check on the records of Ordonio’s mother, Corazon and grandmother Felicitas in Sta. Lucia, Ilocos Sur, also yielded negative results.

For his part, Menk, according to Barbers, submitted two affidavits with two different entries on her mother, Lucia Padua Menk, her birthplace and date of birth.

Barbers said Peña is also under investigation as the committee found discrepancies on the document that he submitted to the Bureau of the immigration and the Department of Justice.