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Friday, March 28, 2003
Deport 5 Fil-foreigners
MANILA—The Senate is recommending the deportation of five so-called Fil-foreigner cagers playing for the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) for submitting fake documents to prove Filipino lineage.
Sen. Robert Barbers, chairman of the Senate committee on games and amusement, yesterday said he would immediately recommend to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) the deportation of Erick Conrad Menk of Ginebra San Miguel, Paul Asi Taulava of Talk ‘N Text, Rudolf Hatfield of Coca-Cola Bottlers, Dorean Peña of San Miguel Beer and William Jonathan Ordonio of Alaska Milk.
“All the five Fil-Am players have something in common. They failed to justify they
have Filipino blood and all of them cannot produce birth and death certificates of the their grandfathers (who) were not known in the locality,” Barbers said.
He said three of the basketball players: Menk, Hatfield, and Taulava, represented the country in the last Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. The senator said had the country won, the victory could have been recalled.
“Parang blessing in disguise ang nangyari sa bansa nang matalo tayo, kung hindi, sigu-radong nakakahiya ang Pilipinas na aalisan ng korona at kara-ngalan dahilan sa peke pala ang mga players at walang dugong Pinoy,” Barbers told Senate reporters after the hearing.
Peña, for example, claimed the documents he submitted showed his roots from Escalante, Negros Occidental, where his grandfather, a certain Roland Maratas Peña, allegedly died in 1989.
The committee said Peña could produce neither the birth nor death certificates of his alleged grandfather, who also turned out to have no records in that municipality.
Hatfield claimed his ancestry was from Luna, La Union, and that his grandfather, a certain Don Valdez, died sometime in the early 70s.
The committee said he also failed to produce the birth and death certificates to prove his claims and that his so-called grandfather is not known to any of the old folks in the town.
Ordonio, claiming his line could be traced to Sta. Lucia, Ilocos Sur, failed to substantially back up his claim. The committee discovered that only the surname Ordoño exists in the area.
Taulava, who earlier was deported on the same allegations, failed again to prove his lineage. He claimed his roots are from San Jose, Northern Samar, where his so-called grandmother, Anna Metiake Hernandez, died.
Again, no records of death and birth certificates were produced, neither was she known in the barangay where she was supposed to have lived.
Menk even submitted an affidavit to correct his earlier affidavit claiming his alleged mother, one Lucia Padua, came from Lauan, Samar. No records were shown to prove her existence in the municipality, the senate panel said. (Joshua Dancel/Sunnex Luzon)
(March 28, 2003 issue)
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