Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Anthony “Tony Boy” Liao said the federation will meet with the lawyers of former Alas Pilipinas head coach Jorge Souza de Brito on Tuesday regarding his unpaid bonuses.
This marks Liao’s first media appearance since De Brito publicly stated that he still has outstanding dues from his tenure with the national team, particularly from previous tournaments.
“On Tuesday, mag-uusap kami ni abogado niya, si Atty. Cruz. Maybe something might come up, but we don’t know,” said Liao, who replaced Ramon “Tats” Suzara as PNVF president last November.
Liao added that De Brito’s concurrent coaching roles with clubs Akari and Capital1 constituted violations of his contract, which influenced the federation’s decision not to honor the claimed bonuses.
“Kasi si De Brito, basing ito sa contract, marami siyang violations. Number one, hindi siya puwedeng mag-coach sa club team. Pero nag-coach siya ng Akari before, nag-coach siya ngayon ng Capital1. Sa kontrata niya, because it’s a PSC visa, it’s really stated in the contract, na he has to practice eight hours a day with the national team, which he doesn’t do. That’s another violation in the contract,” said Liao.
“Kung sana wala siyang violation sa contract, madali kaming kausap. Oh, eto na ‘yung mga kini-claim mo. Eh may violation ka sa contract mo eh, so how can I give you something na nag-violate ka,” he added.
Despite these issues, Liao stressed that the PNVF remains open to resolving the matter once they meet with De Brito’s lawyers.
Regarding his working visa, Liao explained that the federation had already planned to process its termination following De Brito’s exit as Alas Pilipinas head coach. However, Capital1 requested that the process be delayed, as De Brito was set to coach the club.
The PNVF agreed to the request on the condition that De Brito temporarily suspend his claims, given that the federation was still in a transition phase and handling unresolved matters inherited from the previous administration.
However, Liao noted that De Brito did not comply with the agreement and continued pursuing his claims, which Capital1’s management was not aware of.
(C) PVL Images
“Kinausap kami ni Capital1. Kasi Capital1, as you know, he’s coaching the team. So sabi sa amin, baka puwedeng ‘wag niyo muna kayong sumulat sa PSC for the termination of the visa,” shared Liao.
“Kasi once na tinerminate yung visa, wala silang coach. But syempre, it will look ‘pag pina-terminate namin, kami yung bad guy. Dahil bakit ginaganun? So sabi namin, okay, bakit hindi niyo muna i-apply ’yan. ‘Pag na-apply nyo na, saka namin ite-terminate,” he continued.
“Ang sistema pala diyan, doon sa kung saan ina-apply yung visa, sa immigration, habang meron siyang existing visa, hindi puwedeng mag-apply [ng bago]. Okay, ibig sabihin nun, ‘pag tinerminate namin, saka lang siya puwedeng mag-apply. But it will take more than six weeks to process the visa. So pag tinerminate namin, wala siyang visa for 6 weeks. Hindi siya puwedeng mag-coach,” Liao added.
“So doon yung scenario na kawawa naman ‘yung Capital1. So we agreed, okay, maybe it’s possible, let’s try. We will not terminate. Basta, talk with your coach, huwag na muna siyang manggulo. Kasi ang problema naman niya is not with us, eh, it was with the other administration.”
This prompted Liao to reach out to De Brito’s lawyer, with both sides scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the matter.
“So sabi ko ngayon kay… Kanina, tinext ko nga yung abogado, puwede ka ba sa Tuesday, this coming Tuesday, dito sa office, mag-uusap tayo. Kasi baka hindi mo alam yung nangyayari. So on Tuesday, I have a meeting with the lawyer, at pag-uusapan namin kung ano yung dapat gawin,” Liao said.
“So ito, hindi alam ng abogado. Sasabihin namin sa abogado na ito ang violation niya. So ‘yan ang ano. We’ll update you on the case of De Brito once na… Kasi kaya namin sumagot, kasi ayaw namin sabihin na on the side na nag-uusap kami ng Capital1 para at least, kalma lang, quiet lang. Eh, kasi magulo ‘yung coach niya eh. Kaya nga gano’n ang nangyayari.”
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PNVF President Tonyboy Liao says the federation has been open to having a dialogue with the players 🏐
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