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Post by Usapang Football on Nov 30, 2010 11:29:01 GMT 8
MANILA (30 Nov 2010) - Jose Mari Martinez is no longer the president of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) following a unanimous decision of the 7th Ordinary Congress of the federation which was held on the weekend at the Audio-Visual Room of the Philsports Complex in Pasig City.
Twenty-five presidents out of the 29 present members football associations (from a total 33) of the PFF voted to approve a resolution by the eight members of the Board of Governors recommending the removal and replacement of Martinez as president.
Mariano V. Araneta, the current head of the Iloilo Football Association was named as the interim president who will serve out the last year of Martinez’ four-year term.
Araneta was also the chairman of the PFF’s Finance Committee who launched the probe into the federation’s finances.
Ismael Batiles of the Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental Football Association was named the Executive Vice President.
The PFF Congress also took him to task for alleged misuse of the Financial Assistance Plans annual subsidy from the Federation de International Football Association (FIFA).
Those who voted in favor of the resolution were Eric Pocon (Agusan del Sur), Richard Montayre (Cebu), Abenir Labja (Compostela Valley), Mariano Araneta (Iloilo), Arturo Pacificador Jr. (Laguna), Alex Macabangkit (Iligan Lanao del Norte), Cabili Sinsuat (Maguindanao-Cotabato City), Felix Rivera (Masbate), Ismael Batiles Jr. (Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental), Jug Jimenez (Misamis-Ozamiz), Juan Luis Carpio (Naga City-Camarines Sur), Jose Vito Borromeo (NCR), Mario Narola (Quezon), Emperado (Negros Occidental), Mayor Joselito Piñol (North Cotabato), Ronald Patulin (Oriental Mindoro), Elipio Daypa (Quezon), Mario Garovillo (Rizal), Dave Araral (South Cotabato), Antonio Oculto (Sultan Kudarat), Mario Semorlan (Surigao del Norte), Glenn Caratativo (Tarlac), Antonio Buca (Zamboanga del Norte-Dipolog), and Flaviano Fucoy III (Zamboanga del Sur-Pagadian). Renato Cosmod (Davao) and Jose Reneva (Camarines Norte) abstained from the voting while Leopoldo Arnaiz (Baguio) and Taghi Kashef (Legazpi-Albay) left without casting their votes.
“The decision has been made by a few,” said Martinez afterwards.
“I only worked for the best of football in this country but apparently, some people want my job because they are envious. Their move was unconstitutional. My lawyers will prepare a rebuttal and we will take this to the next level.”
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Post by Usapang Football on Nov 30, 2010 11:29:59 GMT 8
Jose Mari Martinez said yesterday he’s both happy and sad about his ouster as president of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) following a vote at the National Congress acting on a motion endorsed by the Board of Governors.
“I’m happy because now I know that all it takes is to pay off the representatives of the provincial associations for their votes but I’m sad because they did it in violation of the PFF Constitution and By-Laws,” said Martinez. “If it’s just a matter of money, that’s no problem. I was told the pay-off was only P50,000 to vote for my removal.”
Martinez said nobody can pin him down on accountability for the so-called missing funds amounting to about P2.8 million. “I dare anyone to take me to court,” he said. “If all they want is money, I can give it to them, anytime. When I want or need money, it’s there. Two weeks ago, I got a commitment for P2 million from my foreign sources. The first P1 million arrived and I used it to pay off obligations from the recent hosting of the under-16 ladies tournament. When I was told a budget of P150,000 was required for a tournament in Tagum, I gave my own money. But after what they did to me in the Congress, I got my money back.”
Martinez said his allies in FIFA, AFC (Asian Football Confederation) and AFF (Asian Football Federation) won’t take his ouster lightly.
“I’m definitely going to court,” said Martinez who attended the Congress at the PhilSports Audio-Visual Room last Saturday with two lawyers Arnold Perez and Voltaire de la Cruz. “I’m not worried. The vote they took was both amazing and shocking. One by one, I saw them voting me out. But the vote was illegal. For the Congress to call for a vote to remove the president, there must be an endorsement from the Board. A Board meeting was held a few hours before the Congress but it was not legal. You need a 30-day notice for a Board meeting. They forced a meeting at the PFF building. I was in my office in the same building but didn’t attend because there was no notice. They insisted on holding the meeting without my consent and brought up the motion but it couldn’t be lawful because it was an illegal meeting. We will bring this up in court because it was a clear violation of the PFF Constitution and By-Laws. This case isn’t over.”
Martinez said if necessary, he will call on his brother-in-law Tarsy Cruz, a top-notch lawyer from the Romulo, Mabanta, Buenaventura, Sayoc and De los Angeles group, to bring up the matter in court.
* * * *
“I did not lose for losing,” said Martinez. “I lost because people were paid off by my detractors. I was taken out not for cause but because the voters were paid off. This was done illegally and AFC president Mohamed Bin Hamman already knows what happened. I didn’t lose for a reason. The P50,000 pay-off is nothing compared to what I bring in for the PFF and I hope the representatives in the Congress realize what they’ve done, not to me, but to football.”
Martinez said he recently got a confirmation from Holcim Cement to finance a football project in Mindanao amounting to about P1 million annually for three years. But now that he’s been ousted, Martinez said he doubts if the sponsorship will push through.
Martinez reiterated that his mistake was appointing a former business associate Henry Tsai as PFF executive vice president. He blamed Tsai for the PFF’s financial problems.
“I wasn’t in cahoots with Tsai,” said Martinez. “I didn’t get any of the missing money. It’s true I brought in Tsai but I gave conditions for his appointment. I gave him the opportunity to help Philippine football.” Martinez accused Tsai of absconding with PFF funds and vowed to take him to court. Tsai has denied any wrong-doing and pointed to Martinez as the culprit.
* * * *
Martinez said he was told that Mariano Araneta Jr. of Iloilo, elected to take over as PFF president, will change the locks in the PFF office and prevent him from entering the building.
“I expect to get directions from the AFC on what to do,” said Martinez. “In a way, this has spared me from the problem of having to deal with so many entities like the POC and PSC. I’m not out it yet. They’ll try to stop me from entering the PFF office. But all I’m asking for is to follow the law. If I can prove in court that what they did to me was against the provisions of the PFF Constitution and By-Laws, then it’s back to status quo. In a few days, I’ll make my move after consulting with my lawyers and the AFC. Then, we’ll see what the real score is.”
In the National Congress, the motion for Martinez’ ouster was carried by 26 votes, two abstentions and five no-shows. Then, Araneta was elected in the same Congress, unanimously, by 27 voters who stayed until the end of the proceedings. The Congress was witnessed by former PFF presidents Rene Adad and Johnny Romualdez, POC chairman Monico Puentevella and former POC president Cristy Ramos.
Araneta said there is still no clear path leading to the recovery of the missing PFF funds. He will consult lawyers to determine culpability based on an external audit confirming the amount in question.
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Post by Usapang Football on Nov 30, 2010 11:31:55 GMT 8
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Post by Usapang Football on Nov 30, 2010 11:32:38 GMT 8
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) underwent a change in leadership as Jose Mari Martinez was booted out as president by over a 2/3 vote of 32 provincial associations and Mariano Araneta was elected in his place during the National Congress at the PhilSports Audio-Visual Room in Mandaluyong yesterday.
But Martinez, accompanied by two lawyers, questioned the legal basis of his removal, insisting that Congress could not act on a motion for his ouster unless it was endorsed by the PFF Board of Governors. The speculation was he would go to court and try to hang on to his position despite a vote of 26 affirming his removal with two abstentions and five absensions.
The voting in Congress was witnessed by former PFF presidents Rene Adad and Johnny Romualdez, POC chairman Monico Puentevella and former POC president Cristy Ramos.
The Congress was preceded by a Board of Governors meeting at the PFF building in Pasig in the morning. Martinez refused to recognize the legality of the meeting and did not attend even as secretary-general Chito Manuel confirmed a quorum of 11 of 13 members.
Araneta said the Board was convened to continue the Oct. 29 session where action on certain matters was deferred. Tarlac representative Glenn Carecativo was elected by the Board to preside in Martinez’ place. The Board endorsed a motion to raise the issue of Martinez’ ouster before the Congress. Martinez said the Board meeting was unlawful.
Martinez was previously given an ultimatum to produce about P2.8 million of missing funds from the PFF coffers. When he failed to deliver, the Board decided to endorse his ouster at the Congress.
Araneta said the PFF will exhaust all means to get back the missing amount from those accountable as confirmed in an external audit report. “We will determine culpability,” he said. “No one will get away with this. We’re doing this for the love of football.”
After Martinez was ousted, the Congress voted Araneta as new president unanimously. “Now, the hard work begins,” said Araneta.
Aside from the change of leadership, the Congress also approved Leyte as a regular member and Sorsogon as a probationary member. The 2010 budget was ratified as the same for next year.
“We hope this ends the dissension in the PFF and we begin working together for the good of football,” said Araneta. “If Mari wants to contest the decision of the Congress, it is his right.”
Romualdez earlier issued a memorandum to the PFF provincial associations, calling for justice to be served. He urged Martinez to return to the PFF unauthorized payments and investments made without Board approval. He threatened Martinez with a legal suit and impeachment if the money was not returned. Romualdez made good his threat to remove Martinez when he couldn’t settle his accountability.
The Congress was initially set at the Legends Hotel but the PFF had to relocate because it still owed over P200,000 to the place and couldn’t pay up. The obligation was incurred in line with the recent PFF hosting of the under-16 ladies tournament which used the Legends Hotel as the host facility. The tournament wound up with a deficit of P2.2 million.
The PFF’s shaky financial condition was traced to poor management, resulting in the removal of Martinez as a signatory in all the organization’s bank accounts. It was estimated that the PFF receives an annual subsidy of over $400,000 from external sources, primarily FIFA, but has been unable to make both ends meet.
Araneta’s election as PFF president will give him the mandate to finish the remaining year in Martinez’ term.
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Post by booblehead on Dec 1, 2010 20:29:56 GMT 8
now get outta here ya filthy animal!
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Post by locotes on Dec 21, 2010 12:53:05 GMT 8
Its Official, MArtinez is out. We have a new President. I got the news from Bleacher Brew. No article provided thou..
This is great new, I hope Araneta is better than Martinez. This is a frsh start for us. Any info about Araneta? his backgroud.
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Post by azkalera on Dec 21, 2010 13:26:20 GMT 8
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