CHICAGO - I first wrote about Frank Lao last November 2023 when he came to the rescue of a now-disbanded Premier Volleyball League (PVL) team.
To save the Gerflor Defenders players and staff from a lonely Christmas, the billionaire entrepreneur dispensed over P2 million of his personal funds toward unpaid salaries.
READ Marcos orders probe into Alas’ financial woes at Asian Games
Nearly three years later this past August 10, Lao has taken on a bigger rescue job by assuming the presidency of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF).
Unfortunately, the good deeds people do sometimes do not do them any good.
BANKRUPT.
Apparently, the PNVF is in fiscal ruin, in debt for up to P32 million at one point.
Because of this hot financial mess, national team players’ allowances haven’t been provided since July, according Alas team captain Bryan Bagunas.
This is a terrible situation that demands our outrage.
But the fickle, angry finger of blame shouldn’t be pointed at Lao.
Long before he assumed the top PNVF post, the federation had been suspended in May this year by the FIVB, volleyball’’s world governing body.
FOLLOW THE MONEY.
This punitive action, which was precipitated by sports politics and internal strife, prohibits the PNVF from accepting funds from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
Clearly, the blockade of the much-needed cash flow to alleviate the players’ financial burden, isn’t Lao’s fault.
To the contrary, the Strong Group Athletics (SGA) founder should be lauded for spending P10 million of his personal funds to keep the PNVF afloat and functioning.
But even for a billionaire, throwing money at a problem is a temporary fix that is not sustainable.
Lao runs a business empire, not a charity.
The bigger issue here is finding out why the PNVF is in deep debt in the first place and figuring out where the federation’s past funding and incomes went.
And an even bigger task is for our sports leaders to unite and work on lifting the FIVB suspension.
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