FINALLY breaking its silence, the UAAP released on Saturday a statement addressing the reported changes in referees' rates - without really addressing the issue.
"Officials’ fees in the collegiate men’s, collegiate women’s, and junior high school boys’ divisions are determined by division and not by gender. They were set following a tiered, merit-based structure that allows officials—regardless of gender—to perform well in order to officiate crucial games," it said in its statement.
"The system serves as an incentive for game officials to maintain a high performance in officiating. The technical head made recommendations on the structure, which was adopted in consultation with the referees.
"Moving forward, while we will still maintain a tiered system, we will ensure that there will be no diminution of fees across all divisions from previous seasons."
Unfortunately, the statement didn't necessarily answer questions or provide clarifications, especially with what the league meant by 'tiered, merit-based structure.'
SPIN.ph released on Thursday a report regarding a newly institutionalized pay gap, with referees being paid P3,000 per game for the men's division, P2,500 for boys', and P2,000 for women's and girls' divisions.
It was a development that came out of left field after game officials received their weekly salary on the same day. Last season, referees were paid P2,500 per game regardless of division.
In his response, UAAP basketball commissioner Jai Reyes did not debunk the report and justified the change, arguing that the difference is solely based on the "difficulty of the division they're officiating."
The league statement, however, made no further explanation if its 'tiered, merit-based system' pertains to the difference in fees based on divisions - or if there's another basis altogether.
Eyes on UAAP
As such, the UAAP's first word on the issue has left more questions and clarifications, as the reported pay gap drew flak from much of the public.
READ: UAAP coaches bat for equal pay for referees calling women's games
University of Santo Tomas coach Haydee Ong even phoned in her fellow shot-callers to raise the matter to the Board of Managing Directors.
Sen. Pia Cayetano has also already joined in on the clamor, noting on her Instagram: "Umayos kayo UAAP. You violate the Magna Carta of women and labor laws of the country."
For its part, the UAAP has apologized for the 'inconvenience this may have caused.'
The statement furthered: "We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and reaffirm our commitment to growing the sport and working with the community to empower student-athletes, coaches, and game officials—not only in basketball but across all sports under the UAAP."
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
