ASIAN Volleyball Confederation (AVC) president Ramon ‘Tats’ Suzara has taken legal action on incoming Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) chairman Dr. Arnel Hajan for alleged falsification of private document and use of a falsified document.
The case stems from a letter dated December 1, 2025, written on a PNVF letterhead and signed by Hajan, which was addressed to Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman John Patrick 'Pato' Gregorio.
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The letter requested official Team Philippines apparel and shoes for incoming chairman and president Tony Boy Liao ahead of the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand that opened last Dec. 8.
The letter, according to Suzara's complaint, was emailed directly by Hajan to Gregorio and subsequently endorsed to the PSC’s International Games Secretariat (IGS) on Dec. 1.
Suzara filed the criminal case before the Office of the City Prosecutor in Taguig City last Friday, December 13, received by Taguig RTC Assistant City Prosecutor Mae Lane Ong.
Hajan previously served as PNVF vice president under Suzara, who lost in long-delayed PNVF elections last November 21, roughly two months after the Philippines’ controversy-laden hosting of the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship.
Hajan was elected chairman under Liao, whose term formally begins on January 1, 2026.
The tournament was marred by a flurry of issues, including low crowd turnouts, high ticket prices and the revocation of SPIN.ph’s media credentials, a move the organizers attributed to what they described as the sports outlet's 'negative reportage' of the event.
Two versions of the same document?
Liao pushed back against the premise of the complaint, maintaining that it was Hajan who sent the request to the PSC and that the letter carried the chairman’s own signature and not Suzara’s.
“Dr. Hajan said he really sent an email request to PSC chairman Pato [Gregorio], but he himself signed on his behalf. He doesn’t understand why it happened this way,” Liao told SPIN.ph.
SPIN.ph obtained copies of two versions of the same email, both containing an identical, word-for-word request.
However, there were notable differences between the attached letters.
The version purportedly signed by Hajan carried the PNVF logo on the right-hand side of the letterhead and bore the heading ‘Office of the Chairman.’
Meanwhile, the version alleged to have been falsely signed by Suzara featured the PNVF logo on the left-hand side.
In that document, Suzara’s signature appeared below the signature block at the lower left portion of the page — beneath the federation’s address and contact details, as well as the logos of the FIVB, AVC, and the Philippine Olympic Committee.
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