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    New clause in PBA contracts allows teams to cut, withhold salaries amid pandemic

    Fair?
    Jan 22, 2021
    PBA board
    PHOTO: Jerome Ascano

    ACTING promptly after its experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, the PBA has moved to insert an 'act of God' clause in players' contracts that gives teams the leeway to revise contractual terms in, God forbid, similar situations in the future.

    Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the league's board of governors has passed a resolution inserting 'act of God' clauses in all Uniform Player's Contracts (UPCs) that players will be made to sign starting this season.

    In legal terms, an 'act of God' pertains to a natural hazard, like an earthquake, for which no person can be held responsible. In insurance contracts, an 'act of God' may amount to either an exception to liability or an 'insured peril.'

    Under the terms of the clause drafted by the PBA board, a pandemic like the one the world is battling now qualifies as an 'act of God' that gives the teams the right to unilaterally make changes to the players' contracts, including compensation, sources said.

    The board made the decision after a difficult season that saw the league take an extended break after just one playdate in the 2020 calendar as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on industries including sports all over the world.

    Instead of a three-conference season that usually stretches for over nine months, the league was limited to a two-month conference held under a bubble format at the Clark Freeport Zone in Angeles City.

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      During the six months that the league was on a forced break, all players and team personnel received their salaries and benefits in full, officials confirmed.

      That means the 12 member companies paid salaries that can go as high as P36 million, the league maximum for one season, while their teams only played for two months or even less, depending on their performance in the Philippine Cup.

      That didn't sit well with some of the member companies, especially since almost all of them had to let go of employees amid the pandemic.

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        Asked how much the salary cuts could be, officials said such decisions will be left to the discretion of the ballclubs.

        However, PBA officials were quick to assure that all players will be treated fairly by the teams, citing how all ballclubs took care not only of their players but all team personnel during the pandemic.

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        PHOTO: Jerome Ascano
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