SKY-HIGH tickets prices at the ongoing FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship were severely criticized on the Senate floor on Tuesday, with Sen. Erwin Tulfo saying tickets that cost as much as P15,000 each put the global showpiece beyond the reach of common sports fans.
In a privilege speech, the neophyte senator called on the Senate to investigate the conduct of the championship featuring 32 of the world's best volleyball teams that cost the country a staggering P2 billion to host.
READ COLUMN: Open the gates and let the public in
With fans unable to afford the cost of tickets, many games were played before near-empty stadiums, forcing the organizing Philippine National Volleyball Association (PNVF) to lower ticket prices by half and offering distant seats free on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Tulfo lamented that because of the expensive tickets, the public has been pushed away instead of being drawn into witnessing a grand international sporting event on home soil.
“P15,000 para makapanood lang po ng volleyball. Sino naman po ang bibili ng ganyan kamahal na ticket? Siyempre, hindi po ang ordinaryong estudyante. Hindi rin po 'yung mga mahilig sa volleyball sa probinsya o mga batang nangangarap na maging volleyball players,” Tulfo said.
“Instead of bringing volleyball closer to the people, we are driving them away. Instead of inspiring the youth, we are telling them that ‘sports is only for the rich.’
As the senator puts it, ‘this is not inclusion, this is exclusion.’
PNVF president Ramon 'Tats' Suzara defended the high cost of tickets saying one cannot please all the people.
“We can’t make everybody happy. Siyempre, they have to buy tickets, sasabihin mataas ang ticket pero our tickets have never changed, it’s the same ticket prices in the VNL,” Suzara explained to SPIN.ph in a succeeding report.
SPIN.ph credentials 'deactivated'
Also on Tuesday, a SPIN,ph photographer who reported for work was informed that the sports website's accreditation to cover the tournament was 'deactivated' by organizers for stories critical of the staging of the tournament.
Suzara's explanation sent Tulfo ballistic, calling the PNVB president's decisions "arrogant."
“This is arrogance of the highest order. Public trust, public responsibility and sports development are not about pleasing everybody. They are about fairness, integrity and inclusivity,” Tulfo said.
“Why are Filipino fans being priced out of this international event held in their home soil? Why does the leadership of PNVF dismiss this legitimate concern so lightly as if the Filipino people don’t matter?
“This is not just about volleyball. This is about governance, accountability and the message we send to our people. Kung dito po sa larangan ng sports, lantaran na ang kapabayaan at kawalang-malasakit, what more in other bigger arenas?”
Tulfo also questioned why the FIVB established a commercial agreement with betting site 1XBET, which he said violated the law claiming the betting site is unlicensed in the Philippines and therefore illegal.
Tulfo exhibited photos that showed the logo of the betting firm during FIVB Worlds games shown on YouTube and Facebook.
The PNVF chief argued that the 1XBET logo was never shown on the local TV feed and only in international broadcasts.
'Nilalangaw na po'
Tulfo's condemnation of the ticket prices and the bettimg site drew other senators to share their experiences.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, speaking after Tulfo's speech, recalled how her children, who is a volleyball enthusiast, noticed previously-raised concerns on the presence of a supposedly illegal online betting platform in live coverages and the sad images of teams playing before few spectators.
She said such a historic tournament could've been watched by a bigger audience, given the circumstances and the weight it carries for Philippine sports altogether.
"Sayang eh. First time natin i-host itong global tournament. Napapansin daw ng ibang mga national teams, parang nagtatanungan sila, 'Nasaan na 'yung mga manonood? Nasaan na 'yung mga audiences?'
"Nakakalungkot naman at nakakahiya rin. We could've done much, much better," Hontiveros said.
Tulfo acknowledged last-ditch ticketing sale efforts for students and the public that might just be too little and too late at this point of the country's multi-billion peso hosting of the global conclave.
"Is it lower compared to international benchmarks and the purchasing power of Filipino fans? Medyo hindi pa rin po eh," he said.
"Binabaan nila ['yung ticket prices] kasi nilalangaw na po. Sayang. Wala na pong nanonood. We sponsored that tournament. We paid so much money for this tournament tapos wala pong return."
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