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The embattled men’s basketball team from the University of Santo Tomás (UST) committed a “clear violation” by practicing in distant Sorsogon despite lockdown regulations that require sports not be held across the country, according to the president. of the Higher Education Commission (CHEd), J. Prospero de Vera. 3rd.
“Yes, I think clearly, by conducting a student activity in a distant location, clearly there appears to be a violation of the IATF[-EID] rules, ”said de Vera, referring to the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, which banned all sports and mass gatherings during the quarantine.
De Vera made the remarks in an exclusive interview with The Manila Times on Wednesday evening after reading the report presented by the UST legal team during a meeting on Tuesday attended by representatives of the Philippine Sports Commission, the Department of Health and the Board of Games and Entertainment.
He said UST, Asia’s oldest Catholic university, as well as a Growling Tigers coach did not deny the existence of the “Sorsogon bubble,” but did not clarify who the coach was.
“They admit that something happened, and UST didn’t even deny that there was a bubble. Even the technician does not deny that there was a bubble. The post from the students attests that there is a bubble, ”said de Vera.
But it is far from clear what sanctions would be imposed on the UST snarling Tigers, as De Vera said the CHEd was still verifying who is responsible according to the UST report.
What is clear, De Vera said, was that the Growling Tigers allowed student athletes under the age of 21 to go without permission from the CHEd and for mass gatherings.
“Those were the clear situations,” said the CHEd chief.
But student athletes or players who joined UST head coach Aldin Ayo at Sorsogon will likely not be held accountable to the IATF-EID and other government agencies like CHEd.
UST remains silent on the matter.
Meanwhile, de Vera said he had not yet read the National University (NU) report on the 42 students trapped inside its campus in Sampaloc, Manila.
De Vera said NU did not declare the students trapped in CHEd.
The school’s athletic director, Otie Camangian, however, said they contacted the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police last March about the stranded student-athletes from the school.
