MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government, helpless, has not made strong moves to stop the malpractice.
No wonder, reports of Filipino boxers being mauled silly — even killed — mainly in slaughterhouse Bangkok, no longer comes as a surprise.
It has become run-of-the-mill — a plague.
The Games and Amusements Board, headed by former star swimmer Eric Buhain, son-in-law of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s executive secretary, supposedly discourages the mismatches that have regularly victimized poor, willing Filipino boxers.
But, so far, that’s the strongest sign the GAB, under the Office of the President, was doing something.
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The boxing division of the GAB, the licensing and supervisory body in Philippine boxing, said it could not do anything to stop the malpractice.
The body, headed by Nasser Cruz, a physician, said the other day it had been given a slip.
“I don’t recall having seen his papers,” Cruz told Nick Giongco of the Manila Bulletin.
Cruz added it was easy to bring a boxer to fight in Thailand since the Thai government doesn’t require visas or any other special permits.
This only means that, as far as the GAB is concerned, Angelito “Lito” Sisnorio Jr. of Koronadal City, who died of brain hemorrhage after suffering a savage stoppage in another abominable mismatch in Bangkok last week, would go down as just another statistic.
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The savagery, the bloodbath, has got to be stopped.
If the GAB has finally realized it’s been dealing with a primitive, incompetent, mindless boxing system in Thailand, it should’ve made the right move.
It must stop sending boxers to that country, pronto.
In fact, the GAB, given a sane leadership, should have done so a long time ago.
If President Arroyo had ordered a stop to sending Filipino workers to Iraq, why can’t she discourage the one-sided savagery against Filipinos in Thailand?
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For one, journalist Ronnie Nathanielsz, now also writing for philboxing.com, has zealously reported the sickening regularity of overmatched Filipino boxers being turned into sacrificial lambs in Thailand.
Saturday night fights featuring hapless Pinoy pugs against rising or established Thai boxers, have become regular dinner fare in Bangkok.
There were, in fact, first-hand reports, received by this reporter from traveling local sportsmen, of Filipino fighters having been given advance orders to willingly lose in Bangkok.
Reports Nathanielsz: “One of the notorious Thais involved was a certain Panya, who is known to most Filipino boxing people. It is suspected he works in connivance with a Filipino identified as Bong Obero, who was banned by the GAB, but reportedly still continues with his illegal activities allegedly with some GAB officials past and present.”
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To repeat, as things go at the GAB under Buhain, a Malaca?ang favorite, Sisnorio would not be the last victim of this savagery in sports.
Why? With its limp stance, the GAB had clearly shrugged past deathly anomalies.
Any knee-jerk reaction would already be too late.
Of course, there’s a bigger problem here.
While a red-hot President Arroyo would go all-out against suspected rebels, she was expected to turn a blind eye to this latest misdemeanor.
This misdeed at the GAB is nothing short of an insurrection.
But it has go to be condoned because of, you know, connections.
