THE Philippine National Volleyball Federation under its former president Ramon "Tats" Suzara was filled with appointees doing similar jobs - a situation newly-elected president Tony Boy Liao wants to address once he assumes office.
Liao and his team, who ran against Suzara pledging transparency, has asked for the courtesy resignations of all the holdover staff at the PNVF under Suzara to address what he described as several “redundancies” across the board.
READ Get to know Tony Boy Liao and his long service to PH volleyball
Ahead for Liao and his officials, particularly Rickie Palou, the PNVF's new treasurer, is to open the books of the association later and try to trace how the P2 billion for hosting the recent FIVB Men's World Volleyball Championship was spent.
For now, however, Liao said he plans to put the association in good order, first by looking at the organizational setup that had been in place the last five years under Suzara whose group failed to win reelection despite vigorous effort to stay in power.
“We really have noticed na maraming mga redundancy na trabaho na isang bagay, isang trabaho, dalawa ang gumagawa, so talagang redundant,” Liao explained.
“So kapag may mga redundant, I’m sorry, we have to take you off. ‘Yan ang timbangan kung sino ang mga mas kailangan namin.”
The issue is not just about efficiency as overstaffing translates to higher expenses for a federation whose funding largely depends on commercial sponsorships.
“Gusto namin tingnan na kung talagang redundant, we will try to clean it. Kasi when you say redundancy, na dalawa gumagawa na isang trabaho, ‘yung gastos niyan malaki, dalawa sumusweldo,” he said.
“Hindi naman mayaman ang PNVF eh. Umaasa lang kami sa mga sponsors, which ngayon, ganu’n pa rin. So kung may mga ganyang gastos, we have to cost-cut para ‘yung ibang pera, magamit namin sa ibang bagay, like for operations, kapag may mga tournaments.”
PNVF overstaffing
Liao cited the PNVF secretariat as prime example of overstaffing. That sub-group handles administrative functions including program implementation, documentation, international affairs, event management and coordination with internal commissions.
The secretariat is led by the secretary-general, who for the past four years was Suzara’s longtime right-hand man, Don Caringal.
Liao noted that secretariats in other national federations typically have three to four members, while Suzara’s secretariat, led by Caringal, had around 10.
So why was the Suzara administration 'overstaffed'? Even Liao admits he can only speculate.
“Ang daming tao, ang daming staff, overstaffed. Bakit? Hindi ko alam,” he said.
“Siyempre, kunyari [sa secretariat] na 10 tao, lahat ito, bibigyan mo ng sweldo, bibigyan mo ng allowances. ‘Yun ang mga cost-cutting [measures] na plan na namin gawin para hindi masyadong waste of money.”
The irony of an overstaffed PNVF was that it still largely operated as a “one-man rule” in the eyes of many stakeholders.
Liao is determined to change that.
“Marami kasing nagsasabi na one-man rule [si Suzara]. What he wants, it happens and not even referring to the board,” Liao said. “Maraming sinasabi, ‘di ko naman ma-enumerate lahat, pero kaya sila siguro napalitan. Sabi nga nila, ‘tama na, nakakasawa na, palitan na.’”
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