Delivery day for Christmas Contest

It’s D-Day or delivery day for our Christmas Contest. We’re gathering all 30 winners at 10:30 this morning to give their prizes at Starbucks Molito in front of the Alabang Town Center. For the first time in over 15 years, we received a grand total of P200,000 in cash for the contest. The donors were POC (P50,000), Sen. Sonny Angara (P30,000), Atty. Tony Cablitas (P20,000), Jean Henri Lhuillier (P20,000), Cynthia Carrion (P20,000), Hermie Esguerra (P20,000), Anonymous (P20,000), NorthPort (P15,000) and GAB chairman Abraham Mitra (P5,000).

The first prize winner Arnold Liwanag, 40, of Santa Maria, Bulacan, will receive P50,000 and P3,000 worth of Robinsons gift certificates. The second prize winner Esmeraldo Guillermo, 61, of Malinta, Valenzuela City, will take home P20,000 and P1,500 worth of Loalde gift certificates. The third prize winner Christianzen Libed, 35, of Bacoor, Cavite, will get P10,000. The fourth prize winner Rey Paez, 21, of Alaminos, Pangasinan, and fifth prize winner Ariel Clarito, 41, of Pinaglabanan, San Juan, will receive P5,000 each. The other 25 winners will pick up P3,000 each. With Sen. Angara’s donation of P30,000 that came in last Thursday, we’ll give every winner an additional P1,000. That will leave P5,000 to cover expenses. Every winner will also be given a Chooks To Go chicken voucher and a load of gift items.

Aside from our cash donors, we wish to also thank our friends, benefactors and sponsors who made this year’s Christmas Contest the most abundant ever – Sonak Corp. president Anil Buxani, tennis patron Rommie Chan, Ever Bilena CEO Dioceldo Sy, PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial, Alaska PBA governor Dickie Bachmann, San Miguel Corp. sports director Alfrancis Chua, San Miguel Beer PBA governor Robert Non, Meralco senior vice president Al Panlilio, SBP executive director Sonny Barrios, Robina Gokongwei-Pe, Rain Or Shine PBA governor Atty. Mamerto Mondragon, Columbian PBA governor Bobby Rosales, San Miguel Corp. vice president Kin Lichauco, Magnolia PBA team manager Alvin Patrimonio, Danise Flores of Centaur Marketing, PLDT executive assistant to the chairman Abet Dungo, Peak CEO Michael Chenglay, NLEX PBA governor Rod Franco, Phoenix PBA governor Atty. Raymond Zorilla, ALA CEO Tony Aldeguer, NorthPort PBA governor Erick Arejola and Planet Sports president Anton Gonzalez.

Each winning entry had the correct answers to our three questions – 1. Who were the three bowlers recently inducted into the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame? Paeng Nepomuceno, Bong Coo, Lita de la Rosa. 2. Who is FIBA’s ambassador of the 2019 FIBA World Cup? Kobe Bryant. 3. What were the three franchises that Tim Cone piloted to become the PBA’s winningest coach with 21 total championships? Alaska, Purefoods, Ginebra San Miguel.

Every entry also contained an essay appealing to FIBA to consider Fil-foreigners with authenticated Filipino lineage to play for the Philippine team as locals, not as naturalized citizens regardless of when they were issued their Philippine passports.

Here’s the essay of the first prize winner:

 “When FIBA imposed the ‘passport-before-the-age-of-16’ rule to prevent some countries from disguising foreigners as locals, the Philippines became a victim of collateral damage and was adversely affected by the drawback of not being able to form the best line-up as the rule disallows legitimate Fil-foreigners to play as locals simply because they did not acquire Philippine passports before turning 16.

 “While we respect FIBA’s intention to regulate the participation of dual citizens, this should not prejudice half-Filipinos like Jordan Clarkson, Stanley Pringle, Christian Standhardinger and others who would have been more instrumental as locals playing together but the passport rule has forced the SBP to consider them instead for that lone spot for a naturalized player even if they have Filipino lineage.

  “There is clearly more to nationality than a mere passport received before a specific age and in the Philippines where the citizenship is recognized under the principle of jus sanguinis or right of blood, a dual citizen is guaranteed by the Constitution of the same rights as that of a full-pledged Filipino including the right to represent the country of his or her choice.

   “If FIBA is cautious about the influx of fake dual citizens in competitions, it can consider DNA testing as a way to prove bloodline in granting eligibility as this scientifically reliable method would be mutually fair and beneficial to FIBA and the countries it governs including the Philippines which has Fil-foreigners all over the world who have repeatedly expressed desire to compete for the Philippines.

“In behalf of all the legitimate Fil-foreigners who are willing to prove heritage to play for the most passionate (sic) if not the most passionate basketball fans in the world, we appeal to the policy makers of FIBA to please revisit the existing eligibility rules or consider exceptions to give authenticated dual citizens a chance to play as locals regardless of when they were issued passports and may this clamor echo the FIBA slogan itself that indeed ‘We (Fil-foreigners included) are basketball.’”

The essay of the second prize winner:

“In the spirit of fairness and equality, I would like to ask this august body to reconsider the rule on Fil-foreigner players who have authenticated Filipino lineage to play as locals to the Philippine team and not as naturalized citizens, regardless of the year when they received their Philippine passports.

“Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article IV, Section 1, it states, ‘The following are citizens of the Philippines: (2) Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines.’ This Constitutional provision clearly describes and identifies who are natural born citizens based on the principle of jus sanguinis (right of blood) which is the legal principle that, at birth, an individual acquires the nationality of his/her natural parent/s.

“This means that Fil-foreigners, with authenticated birth and Filipino parentage, should be accorded their birthright of representing their country as local players and not as naturalized ones. A Filipino by naturalization is the judicial act of adopting a foreigner and clothing him with the privileges of a native-born citizen implies the renunciation of a former nationality and the fact of entrance into a similar relation towards a new body politic (Am.Jur.561,par.188).”