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And now, on with the facts…

Much has been said about the Jojo Duncil issue. A lot of people came out to publicly defend Duncil, while others continue to portray him as a cheat. Even the school where he came from was not spared from all these talks. In some forums, discussions on this issue sometimes turn into ugly debates because the participants are very passionate about their stand.

But the question is: have these people seen the documents before they can make their conclusions? When they participate in these discussions, is it based on facts, or do they just use certain perceptions of those being talked about?

Inboundpass.com is committed to bring out stories that concern college basketball leagues in the country. Some of us in this site may have a thing or two for our alma mater. But more important, this website has committed itself in helping preserve pureness in these leagues by tackling issues that may become detrimental to all concerned in the long run. Such as the Jojo Duncil issue.

I have observed that a lot of people joining the discussions haven’t seen the documents that inboundpass have. Some even speculate on certain pieces of evidences, and eventually these speculations become the “gospel truth”. Through a timeline, inboundpass.com wishes to share the documents and the inside information that we have gathered for your appreciation.

June 5, 2007 - inboundpass.com’s Tony Atayde posts a story of an alleged high profile player from a UAAP school having a tampered birth certificate which will make him ineligible to play in UAAP Season 70

June 7, 2007 - Joselito “Jojo” Duncil files a petition before the Macabebe RTC (through lawyer Victor Rodriguez) to have his birth certificate entry changed, specifically the entry on date of birth from January 13 1982 to January 13 1983. Case no. 07-05-85-M Macabebe RTC.

June 10, 2007 - UST basketball coach Pido Jarencio comes to the defense of his player Jojo Duncil. When asked about Duncil having a tampered birth certificate, Jarencio says that it’s pure hearsay and that the rumor is not true. Jarencio adds that Duncil was born in 1983 according to records submitted to UST, and everything is okay with Jojo.

June 13, 2007 - inboundpass.com secures birth certificate and the Varsity Athletes’ Information System Eligibility Report submitted by UST to the UAAP in school year 2004-05. Both documents state Duncil’s date of birth as January 13 1983.

June 22, 2007 - inboundpass.com secures Duncil’s birth certificate from the National Statistics Office. The document states that he was born January 13 1982. The NSO also vouches authenticity of the birth certificate, stating that the document is a digital copy of the birth certificate coming from the Municipality of Apalit; and that it is the only document concerning Duncil’s birth certificate in their data base. Furthermore, the NSO states that the birth certificate submitted to the UAAP is tampered.

June 25, 2007 - UAAP Eligibility Committee meets; UST submitted a lineup with Duncil in it. But when questioned about the birth certificate, UST presents two birth certificates with NSO authenticity, one with DOB January 13 1982 (the same document secured by inboundpass.com) and another with DOB January 13, 1983.

June 27, 2007 - Duncil was interviewed by inboundpass.com and Philippine Chronicle reporter Josef Ramos; in the taped interview, Duncil vowed to fight tooth and nail over this matter. He claimed that the Municipality of Apalit lost his birth certificate when his sister tried to reprieve it, and that the municipality replaced it with the wrong DOB (January 13, 1982).

June 29, 2007 - UST declares Duncil will turn professional. Here is UST’s press release:

Duncil foregoes final year of eligibility, decides to turn pro.

JOJO Duncil, the 24-year-old who led the Santo Tomas Growling Tigers to an improbable Cinderella finish last year, has decided to forego his final year of UAAP eligibility to join the coming Philippine Basketball Assocation Draft.

The crafty, 6-foot shooting guard got the blessings of school officials and his coach, Pido Jarencio, after a long talk yesterday, with Jarencio saying that he will not in any way “stand in the way of his progress.�

“It is his and his family’s decision,� Jarencio said. “He already served his school well, and with that we are grateful. It’s time for us, as his guardians here (at UST), to support him in his career move.�

A native of Apalit town in Pampanga, Duncil, who won the Finals MVP last season when the Tigers upset the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 2-1, in the title series, was also a vital cog of the Harbour Centre team that won the PBL Unity Cup recently. His contract with the Batang Pier will expire at the end of this month.

“I want to play against the best and it is at this stage of my career where I feel that I can do that,� Duncil, who is the second blue-chip player to skip this year’s UAAP after Adamson’s Ken Bono, said in Filipino. “I am very thankful for UST officials for giving me their blessings.�

The PBA Draft is set in the second week of August and Duncil is expected to be snagged high in the order. Duncil attended practice at the UST gym yesterday to bid teammates farewell and wish them the best in their title defense, which starts Saturday next week.

Bono, the burly 6-foot-5 center who has a soft, accurate touch from the outside, is also reportedly set to enlist in the pool, which could go down as one of the richest in recent years.

July 2, 2007 - UAAP President Fr. Ermito De Sagon answers question on why Jojo Duncil left for the pro ranks.

“Ok, let me answer that. Of course, Jojo Duncil was our player. He was a UAAP player. As far as we are concerned, he is a dead horse and it is useless to talk about a dead horse. Sabi ko nga, kaya tinanggal na lang sa line-up kasi hindi nakaka-excel yung iba. Natatakpan yung ibang player namin kaya iba naman. But really, as far as the controversy is concerned, we know from the family. In fact, Jojo Duncil is the nephew of the rector of UST. So, as far as his person is concerned, we have no doubts against his person. He is a good boy. But the only problem is he has two NSO-certified birth certificates. One will make him ineligible. Kasi kung 1982, ineligible. Kung 1983, eligible. Now, we think that this is, as far as UST is concerned, is an additional burden, an excess load. We don’t want any member of our team to have excess load. It will be a distraction to our games. We don’t want to have games and put into question. Kaya better, mag-pro ka nalang. And of course, as a matter of fact, that was his real intention. He was weighing the possibility of going pro because he was watching the list of those who will go pro. Kasi siyempre, yung player, nakakiramdam din when is the best time to turn pro. Siyempre kung maraming magagaling na mag-turn pro, mahihirapan ka rin. So parang for him, that’s his decision and the family’s decision and we respect it. Sa UST, hindi na namin pinag-uusapan yun.�

July 7, 2007 - Start of UAAP Season 70

July 13, 2007 - As of this date, there’s still no schedule for the special proceeding for Duncil’s petition. The Clerk of Court of Macabebe RTC also said that Duncil has yet to submit the documents needed for his petition.

July 20, 2007 - Mrs. Felicitas Francisco asked for an emergency meeting of the UAAP Board to discuss the UST Rector’s request to let Duncil play this Season. The Board junks the request 7-0 during the said meeting.

I had a chat with a UAAP insider after the meeting, and I’m glad that he was able to answer my queries. When I asked about the basis of the UST Rector’s request, the UAAP insider said that the Rector was “out of the loop” and didn’t see the wisdom of Fr. De Sagon and Mrs. Francisco in deleting Duncil from the list of UAAP players.

When asked about the issue on the birth certificates, the UAAP insider acknowledged that the birth certificate UST submitted to the UAAP in 2002 was a tampered version of the NSO document with DOB January 13, 1982. The UAAP insider added that the other “NSO” document De Sagon was referring to during the July 2 press conference was not similar to the one submitted to the UAAP. So essentially, it was the tampered birth certificate that spelled the difference.

I asked why they have to submit such document to the UAAP if they have an alleged NSO (with DOB 1983) to begin with; the insider simply shrugged and said that its something between UST and Duncil. The insider also gave me the same reply when I asked when that alleged NSO (with DOB 1983) surface. The insider also noted that both NSO documents are authentic; though the insider admits that the birth certificate with DOB 1982 indeed came from the NSO, the insider can only observe the NSO document’s ( the one with DOB 1983) authenticity by looking at the document, and not verifying with the NSO. Maybe the UAAP Board can check with the NSO on this particular document.

When asked if UST was negligent on the matter, especially when the school submitted other documents such as the Athletes’ Information Record with DOB 1983, the UAAP insider simply said that since Duncil will no longer play in the UAAP, then the issue should be between UST and Duncil. But if the issue is discussed in the board room, then the Board will look it up, the insider adds.

What’s interesting is the date when Duncil filed his petition, filing it two days after Tony Atayde first wrote his blind item. Another interesting point is Duncil’s reply during the interview on why he had a birth certificate with DOB 1982, practically blaming the Municipality of Apalit for losing his document and replacing it with a wrong entry on DOB; and his conflicting reply to the UAAP Board (oh yes, the UAAP insider did confirm this) that his birth certificate was indeed altered in 1989 to make it appear that his DOB is January 13 1982 so he can enter elementary school (in 1989).

So there, you have the facts as gathered and compiled by inboundpass.com. I don’t expect everybody to swallow this as gospel truth, especially when some are hurt by it. For it’s been said that the truth may be your friend or your own worst enemy, depending on where you stand. As for inboundpass.com, we take full responsibility in presenting these facts to you. Also, we’d like to encourage you to check out the institutions mentioned if you have any doubts on the veracity of these materials.

Tags: duncil, Heavy-Bombers, jojo-duncil, PBA, philippine_college_basketball, UAAP, University-of-Sto.-Tomas-Growling-Tigers, UST

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