Taulava presents new evidence to boost claim

Talk n’ Text yesterday urged PBA commissioner Noli Eala to immediately lift the suspension of its player Paul Asi Taulava following confirmation of the Tongan government that the 6-9 cager is a Filipino citizen.

"There is no more doubt that Asi is a Filipino as affirmed for the nth time by the new documents he submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday," said TnT spokesperson Ray Espinosa.

Taulava, through counsel Eduardo Francisco, submitted to NBI director Reynaldo Wycoco documents certified by the government of Tonga and authenticated by the Philippine Honorary Consul General to Auckland, New Zealand,.

These included the cager’s birth certificate showing his mother Pauline is a Filipino citizen at the time of his birth; the death certificate of Taulava’s grandmother, the former Ana Hernandez, showing she was born a Filipina and died a Filipina; and a certification that Pauline came to Tonga as a Filipino citizen and was naturalized on Sept. 8, 1976 as a Tonga national, well after giving birth to Taulava in 1973.

"The PBA commissioner’s office, for a long time now, has unjustly denied Taulava his contractual rights to play for TNT, in effect denying him his basic human right to provide for his family," said Espinosa.

"With these documents from Tonga which bolstered a 2001 Department of Justice (DOJ) ruling that Taulava is a Filipino, the PBA no longer has any excuse to continue the suspension of Taulava," he added.

However, Wycoco said they would not withdraw the case against Taulava despite the presentation of new evidence and would conduct its own further investigation.

"We would forward to the DOJ the documents for their appreciation while the NBI will conduct its own further verification," said Wycoco.

The NBI last year filed falsification of public documents and perjury charges against Taulava before the DOJ. The NBI Interpol office based its case on the document forwarded by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The Taulava family previously applied for residency in the US wherein the document reportedly showed that Taulava’s mother was a Tongan national.

But Francisco said he does not see any inconsistency in the documents they submitted and those furnished by the US government.

Taulava reportedly left the country last March and returned only last April 30. He went to Tonga and New Zealand to secure evidence.

"It was a very expensive trip, but it was worth it. My mom was a Filipina but I was not raised here. It was a time for me to trace my roots," said Taulava.

"It’s been a very long six months for me to be suspended from the PBA. I hope I would be given the chance to represent the country again," added Taulava.

Franciso said the official communication from the government of Tonga should once and for all end the citizenship issue of Taulava.

"Mr. Taulava has been aching to play not only for Talk n Text but for the Philippine basketball team as well in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games which the country is hosting," Francisco said. — With report from Evelyn Macairan