Yeng shines in Congress

Yeng Guiao may be the closest real live person I know to a Jekyll and Hyde.  As Rain Or Shine coach, he’s a burning firebrand who’s No. 1 in the list of PBA offenders slapped with fines, suspensions and ejections.  As Congressman of the First District of Pampanga, he’s a cool, eloquent legislator with a keen eye for detail, the spirit of a nationalist and the heart of a people’s champion.

I saw Guiao, who turns 55 on March 19, in action during the Congress Justice Committee meeting in Room 6 of the Ramon V. Mitra Building at the Batasan in Quezon City the other day.  I had to look twice to make sure it was Guiao who walked in the room. He wasn’t wearing the Elasto Painters’ usual coaching shirt. He was in a grey long-sleeved barong Tagalog, dressed for work in Congress.

Guiao came in with boxing referee Bruce McTavish whose naturalization he is proposing through House Bill No. 2342. Three years ago, Guiao’s predecessor Rep. Carmelo Lazatin authored House Bill 1445 to enact McTavish’s naturalization, a privilege that’s long overdue for the New Zealander who has lived here since 1967. Congress approved the bill in a plenary session but it was stalled in the Senate because of the Corona trial. The bill, unfortunately, was overtaken by events and never passed to McTavish’s exasperation.   Lazatin’s bill was co-authored by Rep. Neil Tupas, Jr. and Rep. Roilo Golez. Coincidentally, Tupas chaired the Justice Committee meeting the other day.

The Committee tackled Guiao’s bill first in the agenda. Guiao justified McTavish’s naturalization without qualification and said it was with pride that he is recommending the long-time Angeles City resident’s bid for Filipino citizenship. Rep. Oscar Rodriguez (3rd District, Pampanga) moved for approval and Rep. Rodel Batocabe (AKO BICOL partylist) seconded.

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McTavish, 73, didn’t speak a word during the meeting. There was no need. Guiao went through McTavish’s impressive resume in detail and no doubt, naturalization was well-deserved. McTavish is a known philanthropist, socio-civic leader, entrepreneur and respected family man in Pampanga. All over the world, he is acknowledged as one of boxing’s Class A referees. To top it all, he’s married to a wonderful Filipina Carmen Tayag, his wife of 36 years, and they’re blessed with two daughters and three grandchildren.

McTavish is on record as the first non-Filipino to become the Rotary Club president of Mabalacat and Clark Centennial, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Pampanga, president of St. James Cursillo and president of Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce. His charity work with streetchildren and sponsorship of the world’s first Polio Plus project of the Rotary Club speaks volumes of his “pusong Pinoy.” Why it has taken so long for McTavish to become a Filipino is certainly no fault of his. He has loved the Philippines and embraced the Filipino way of life since settling here 47 years ago.

Expressing support for Guiao, several Congressmen volunteered to co-sponsor the bill before the plenary. They were Rep. Karlo Nograles (1st District, Davao City), Batocabe, Rep. Silvestre Bello (1 BAP partylist), Rep. Sherwin Tugna (CIBAC), Rep. Robbie Puno (1st District, Antipolo City) and Rodriguez.

At the same meeting, the Committee took up House Bill No. 3783 on Andray Blatche’s naturalization authored by Puno with Guiao and Rep. Henry Cojuangco (1st District, Tarlac). Guiao spoke out to validate Puno’s push for Blatche’s naturalization. But before arguing for Blatche, Guiao set the record straight on one thing. He had been introduced earlier as a coach with four PBA championships. In a light moment, Guiao informed the Committee that with due respect, he has now won six titles.  

After the meeting, I asked Guiao if in Game 6 of the recent PBA Philippine Cup finals between Rain Or Shine and San Mig Coffee, he knew of the consequences of staging a walkout. Guiao said he had an inkling.

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“You pay the price,” he said. “I had an idea that there would be a fine. I just didn’t know how much but I knew it was more than P500,000 which was the fine before.” In 2006, Red Bull was fined P500,000 for a walkout instigated by Guiao. Of course, Guiao would’ve been hailed a genius if Rain Or Shine held on to win Game 6 after the stunt. In fact, the Painters were down by 13 when the “partial” walkout was staged in the second quarter then took over the lead late in the third. Rain Or Shine was up by one to start the fourth period but couldn’t stave off the Mixers down the stretch. Guiao said he didn’t think about winning or losing when he called for the walkout – it was his way of calling attention to what he perceived to be poor officiating at that point of the game.   

Present at the meeting were Gilas coach Chot Reyes, assistant coach Joseph Uichico, naturalized player Marcus Douthit and team manager Aboy Castro. Douthit arrived from the US five days before to start getting back in shape. His last tournament was the Southeast Asian Games where the Philippines bagged the basketball gold medal in Myanmar last December. Douthit said he’s been working out with Barako Bull and Talk ‘N’ Text. At 6-10, he’s eligible to play as an import for only Air21 and Meralco in the Commissioner’s Cup. Neither team has invited him to suit up, he said.

As for possibly giving up his slot in the Gilas lineup to Blatche, Douthit said he’ll do whatever is best for the team. All he knows is he’s going to Spain for the FIBA World Cup as a player or cheerleader and he’s flying his parents over to witness the Philippines’ return to the global stage after 36 years.