Little League to clamp down on age cheats

There’ll be no room for age cheaters when the Little League Philippine Series, featuring a record-breaking field of a hundred teams, is played April 22-30 in 10 different venues in San Pablo and Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

Serge Bernal, president of Little League Baseball Philippines, yesterday said their association has even set aside half a million pesos to help them detect, catch and prosecute violators.

Age cheating, like alleged falsification of birth certificates or passports, has been a perennial problem in Little League competition, although the LLBP is now doing its best to put an end to the practice.

"Last year we’ve minimized this (cheating)," said Bernal during yesterday’s PSA Forum at the Manila Pavilion where he was joined by San Pablo City Mayor Florante "Boy" Aquino.

"Some of the coaches are also teachers who are due for retirement kaya kawawa naman sila kung ma-forfeit ang retirement benefits nila (for cheating).

"We have provided a fund of half a million pesos to prosecute coaches na ayaw mag-reform resulting to age cheating. Kailangan siguro may maipakulong para mabigyan ng lesson once and for all," Bernal added.

The four winners in girls’ baseball will automatically advance to the World Series in August in Portland, Oregon; Kirkland, Washington; Kalamazoo, Michigan and Kentucky.

The boys’ champions, meanwhile, will have to go through a tough regional tournament for Asia Pacific in order to advance to the World Series in the US.