Cardona’s PEPT result under question

When it rains, it pours.

After two La Salle senior basketball players were confirmed to be holding spurious Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) certificates of rating, a highly-placed source said yesterday the Department of Education (DepEd) is now verifying the authenticity of former varsity cager Mark Cardona’s test result.

Checking Cardona’s academic record, however, will be difficult. He has no PEPT certificate on file at La Salle although the data base notes he is a college eligible because of his qualification from the test. His La Salle records include a transcript from Carson City High School up to Grade 10.

"We asked the DepEd to check (on Cardona’s records) but we don’t know when the results will be given," said a La Salle source. "The DepEd records are by exam date not by name so it’s not easy to check if we do not know the exam date. In Cardona’s case, he has no PEPT certificate with La Salle so all the DepEd has is the year of entry into La Salle."

Cardona, now playing for Talk ‘N’ Text in the Philippine Basketball Association, was a Carson City High School student in Los Angeles from 1996 to 1998. He returned to Manila in 1999 and enrolled at Jose Rizal to try out for the varsity. After five months, Cardona left Jose Rizal and returned to the US. He came back to Manila the next year, took a test administered by the DepEd for a PEPT certificate and qualified as a La Salle freshman in 2001.

Cardona was part of the La Salle teams that won University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) titles in 2001 and 2004. Cardona’s agent Mike Gonzalez, a La Salle alumnus, said he was in the US when the player took the test for a PEPT certificate.

"As far as I know, he qualified as a college eligible," said Gonzalez. "After finding out about players with spurious PEPT certificates, my conclusion is the school was negligent."

Far Eastern University team manager Anton Montinola said the disclosures of La Salle players with spurious PEPT certificates is "quite serious" and called for the school to examine the academic records of its cagers the last five years to erase doubts on their eligibility.

Although La Salle has not identified who are the two players confirmed with spurious PEPT certificates, it is widely known they are Mark Benitez, 21, and Tim Gatchalian, 20. They were Jose Rizal high school teammates and played for the Philippine youth squad.

Since Cardona was once enrolled at Jose Rizal, Montinola said a pattern seems to be evident.

"It’s a matter of verification," said Montinola. "When I heard that a third La Salle player may be holding a spurious PEPT certificate, I was quite disturbed. La Salle should investigate the PEPT certificates of all its players and determine if they’re authentic. And this should be done as soon as possible."

But a source said the recent disclosure by the DepEd of 10 students with fake PEPT certificates excludes any La Salle student. The two La Salle players found with spurious documents were singled out in a separate verification requested by the school.

"Aside from the two players already declared with spurious PEPT certificates, the only other basketball player with a PEPT result is Cardona," said the source. "Of the 10 fake PEPT certificates discovered recently by the DepEd, none is from La Salle."

The source disclosed that the DepEd is not divulging the names or the schools of the 10 students with spurious documents "for professional reasons."

A La Salle source said the fact-finding committee formed by university executive vice president Dr. Carmelita Quebengco to get to the bottom of the scandal is determined to submit its final report by next week. La Salle is expected to call a press conference to announce the details of the report after the submission. The source said the aim is to complete the committee report and hold the press conference by next week. The report will determine culpability. Names will be named and there will be no whitewash, a school official said.

"If more players are found with spurious PEPT certificates, then we’ll face the music," said a committee member.

The PEPT certificates of six students, including Benitez and Gatchalian, were submitted by La Salle to the DepEd for verification last August. Four were cleared but two were confirmed to be fake.

A school source said Cardona was not included in the first list because he is no longer enrolled.

Benitez played for La Salle the last three years. This season, he averaged 2.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 11.9 minutes in 14 games.

Gatchalian was not in the lineup this year. He averaged 1.5 points and 10.8 minutes in 11 games as a rookie in 2003. The next year, he averaged 1.6 points and 9.3 minutes in 10 games, five of which he went scoreless. His single-game highs included seven points, four rebounds and four assists.

Benitez, Gatchalian and Cardona played on the La Salle team that won the UAAP title last year. La Salle has offered to return the trophy.