TONY Boy Liao was elected as the new president of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) after a nearly five-hour election process that in the end saw the ouster of its controversial longtime chief, Ramon 'Tats' Suzara.
Liao, an ardent supporter of volleyball and longtime executive of the pioneering Premier Volleyball League (PVL), takes over the reins from Suzara, who served two consecutive two-year terms since the PNVF was established in 2021.
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The PNVF’s 48 stakeholders convened in twice-delayed elections to choose 13 members of the new board on Friday at The Vault restaurant in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Yul Benosa was named vice president, with Otie Camangian taking over as the national federation’s secretary-general. Outgoing vice president Dr. Arnel Hajan will be the new PNVF chairman, a position initially expected to be assumed by Suzara.
PVL president Ricky Palou was named treasurer with Roger Banzuela named auditor.
Completing the new executive board - drawn from the 13 elected board members that no longer included Suzara and his longtime ally Don Caringal - are Charo Soriano, Fr. Vic Calvo, Miko Vargas, Sherwin Maganda, Daniel Cong-o, Edward Lee and Ma. Socorro Calleja.
The stunning results set the stage for the departure of Suzara, just months after the former PNVF chief oversaw the controversial hosting of the FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship to the tune of P2 billion.
Suzara, 66, is also the president of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) and an executive vice-president of the FIVB. It has yet to be ascertained how the results of the PNVF elections will impact the two positions.
A concurrent Sports Vision executive, the management group that runs the PVL and Spikers’ Turf, Liao’s first order of business is to iron out the country’s preparations for the 33rd Southeast Asian Games as the women’s team continues to scramble to form its pool just weeks before the tournament.
Each of the 48 stakeholders cast a ballot listing 13 preferred candidates for the board seats. After roughly two hours of vote counting, Suzara fell short of the ‘magic 13,’ with Calleja securing the final board spot after placing 13th with 26 votes.
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