THE Premier Volleyball League (PVL) is set for its first professional league in the country after the final documents are submitted to the Games and Amusements Board (GAB).
“We are happy at GAB that PVL is also cooperating with our program in organizing and running of leagues at the professional level,” said GAB Chairman Abraham Khalil "Baham" Mitra.
“GAB sanctions should not be feared, but it will help run leagues better and protect the players involved in it,” he added.
Mitra congratulated the PVL officers and the team owners on their decision after realizing the importance of sanctions by the government agency, which has been explained to them for a long time.
GAB has long been negotiating with PVL and other leagues not covered by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and collegiate league.
“Although PVL is school-based, the student-players and their imports have contracts. We have been saying this for a long time that if the players receive salaries even if we say allowances, the league has a professional contract,” the GAB chief said.
Meanwhile, the Beach Volleyball Republic, Inc. has also expressed intention to submit with the GAB regulations before the start of their new season in January.
Aside from the two leagues, the Philippine Super League (PSL) -- another volleyball league made up of private companies and run by athletics president Philip Ella Juico -- and Senator Manny Pacquiao's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) have yet to comply with the GAB memorandum.
“We do everything. We talked to them and explained the scenario and the importance of subjecting their league to GAB regulations. This is for the sake of their athletes and players. Hopefully, they will realize and we at GAB are just waiting for their response,” Mitra said.
Mitra said GAB and PSC recently reached an agreement on the signed GAB-PSC Joint Resolution No. 2020-01 to clarify the power between professional and amateur athletes.
He said in addition to such guidelines, the GAB Board also passed a resolution to issue a "Special Guest License" that allows college players to play in the professional league as part of training and for a limited time.
Mitra said GAB is doing all they can to help the athletes.