Cayetano: Residency rule unjust and cruel

SENATOR Pia Cayetano vowed to keep the fight going against “unjust and cruel” UAAP rules on residency that are set to be implemented this season.

This, she reiterated in a statement just a day after the UAAP Board decided to uphold the revisions made to the rules which extended the residency period of high school athletes transferring from one member school to another, from just a year to two years.

Cayetano, a staunch critic of the rule since it was announced a few months ago, voiced her displeasure with the recent developments in a press statement, which Cebu Daily News got a copy of.

“This ruling is a huge setback in sports development and in my humble opinion, it is a grave abuse of their authority to regulate the participation of our youth in competitive sports,” said Cayetano.

Cayetano even organized a Senate hearing earlier this month and invited several key speakers to discuss the impact and implications of the rule’s impending implementation. However, in spite the widespread criticism that the new rules have received from all corners of the community, the Board still decided to implement it.

It is widely believed that the new rule was conceived in response to the transfer of Cebuano juniors star Jerie Marlon Pingoy from the Far Eastern University to Ateneo. With the new rules set in place, Pingoy, who also suited up for the University of Cebu back in 2009, will get to don the Eagles’ jersey in 2015. The rule though, did not just affect Pingoy’s and another Cebu-based athlete, Ben Mbala’s eligibility for La Salle, but all of the juniors athletes who are looking for greener pastures for their collegiate career. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio