THE Philippine Tennis Association continues to be hounded by issues.
In a recent letter to the Philta Board of Trustees, International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty clarified that ITF vice-president Anil Khanna met with Philta and Philippine Olympic Committee executives in his capacity as Asian Tennis Federation president and therefore cannot give any assurances or comments on ITF’s behalf.
Haggerty also reminded Philta that ITF is still expecting a full response to the issues raised in its Oct. 20, 2017 letter such as the amendment of by-laws, submission of reports on the tennis activities and accomplishments in the past 3 years, among other concerns.
The ITF and the POC have yet to recognize Atty. Antonio Cablitas as Philta president. The POC maintains that Atty. Cablitas is not a member of the Philta Board and the committee is still not recognizing the most recent Philta presidential elections. ITF has since supported POC’s stand and even stated in its letter that no presidential elections shall be made prior to the amendment of the Philta by-laws.
“We are open for communication and would like to find out more details regarding the amendment of Philta by-laws. We can’t agree on anything at this time since there is nothing discussed yet regarding this. We really think that Philta must first address the issues raised by the ITF in their letter or we may face sanctions or suspension under By-Law 7 of the ITF Constitution,” said Philta Board of Trustees Jean Henri Lhuillier, Randy Villanueva, Julito Villanueva, and Gerard Maronilla.
By-law 7 of the ITF Constitution stipulates that the ITF Board of Directors may investigate or bring a complaint against a national association for “apparent breach of the Constitution or failure to represent the game of tennis adequately.