FILE – NU Lady Bulldogs. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — National University is the latest school to have purportedly violated the national government’s quarantine protocols.
The Lady Bulldogs, the women’s volleyball team of NU, reportedly held training sessions in its campus in Calamba, Laguna, at the height of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Various photos and images—some of which have since been deleted—found in some of the players’ respective social media accounts suggest that they may have indeed been working out since May.
The Inquirer sought the team’s coaches on Sunday for confirmation on such allegations.
“The school will issue an official statement regarding [the matter],” Lady Bulldogs’ assistant coach Regine Diego told the Inquirer in a short exchange.
Norman Miguel, the team’s head coach, has yet to make a comment.
The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), which serves as the oversight body for amateur sports under the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ through a Joint Administrative Order, has been made aware that several schools aside from University of Santo Tomas (UST) have been conducting unauthorized training sessions during the lockdown.
“This is not just [happening] in UST,” PSC chair Butch Ramirez told the Inquirer.
Recreational and nonprofessional contact sports and activities are temporarily suspended regardless of risk severity until an effective vaccine or standard of care is developed, according to the IATF’s Joint Administrative Order, which the PSC has put together alongside the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) and the Department of Health (DOH),
The Growling Tigers, the men’s basketball team of UST, are currently under the microscope for allegedly training in a bubble environment in head coach Aldin Ayo’s hometown of Capuy, Sorsogon.
Such a revelation was reported shortly after the shock departure of former UST captain CJ Cansino, who said he was expelled from the team by Ayo himself.
Reports said Cansino had hoped to return to Manila for a quick break, a request which was denied by his coach.
Ayo released a statement late Sunday night, neither confirming nor denying the existence of such a “bubble.”
He assured his full cooperation with UST which is currently conducting an internal probe on the training in question.
Fr. Jannel Abogado, OP, director of the University’s athletic department has also remained tight-lipped on the matter.