MANILA, Philippines — With all the controversies surrounding the Alas Pilipinas national team, team captain Jia De Guzman wants to focus on the issues first before making a decision.
The eight-time Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Best Setter made it clear to stand on athlete welfare and long-term development plans for Philippine volleyball.
“It’s still, I am considering. For now, I’d rather focus on the issues at hand, especially with the PVL Draft and with the national team season approaching, I think this affects more athletes than me,” she told the media after Creamline’s marathon five-set match against the Cignal Super Spikers last Friday night.
“But if we do get the system right, that decision for me will become much clearer,” she added.
According to her statement, the veteran playmaker is wary of the “Alas Draft” being introduced by the current Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) leadership.
In PNVF’s new era with president Anthony “Tony Boy” Liao, who took over former president Ramon “Tats” Suzara’s position, players selected by the PNVF in the draft would automatically join the Alas Pilipinas women’s pool.
The selected players for the national team will be taken care of the PNVF, and their salaries will be covered by the federation.
The Alas pool will need to complete their two-year commitment, and if they wish to play for the PVL after completing their national team duties, they would need to enter the draft—there’s no such thing as free agency for the selected players.
While the proposal is still pending, De Guzman emphasized the need for better clarity and communication to ensure players aren't forced to choose between their professional careers and representing their country."
“And I think right now, the direction feels more like separation when what we do need is coordination. I think another important point I want to share is clarity is important. Right now, there are still so many questions around things like the Alas draft, the recruitment process, and how contracts are to be structured,” she read her statement.
Last Thursday, Liao was aware of the national team players raising their concerns online and shared that the federation is open for a sit-down dialogue.
“I think that's a very important first step. But for us, what's really important is that dialogue is not just formal, but it's meaningful. And one that includes what I mentioned, not just athletes but also draws from people with expertise in high-performance sports,” De Guzman said.
The Alas team captain made it clear that the burden of initiating a meaningful conversation should not fall to the players.
“ Of course, we're open for dialogue. Even in the past generations, we were always open to dialogue. I think it's just, you know, I don't think that burden of initiating should fall on the players.”
“Because we have always been open. So, yeah, we're very hopeful. Because there are so many things that we can plan for moving forward, not just in the national team, not just in the men's national team who have played so well the past two years, or under-18, under-16, under-21 teams who are playing well.”
“So, let's collaborate. It's like there's no better way to, you know, raise Philippine volleyball than to start right moving forward.”