NBI probing PBA employees on document leak

 

The Board of Governors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has tapped the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the league's employees over a document leak.

Media reports on Tuesday claimed that PBA employees have undergone lie-detector tests as part of the investigation after an article and a video report produced by reporter Snow Badua exposed the alleged fake academic credentials of the league's marketing director, Rosalie Montreal.

Badua was banned by PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa from covering any of the league's games and events and ordered league and team officials to refrain from giving interviews lest they be sanctioned.

Badua's report said Montreal reportedly claimed in her application that she graduated cum laude with a philosophy degree from the University of the Philippines in 1994. Her alleged diploma bore the signature of the late Onofre Corpuz as UP president. Corpuz, a former education minister during the Marcos administration, was the state university's president from 1975 to 1979.

The state university later confirmed that Montreal is not one of its graduates.

Montreal resigned from her post on February 24 after meeting with the PBA board, but she was reinstated two weeks later for "humanitarian reasons and exemplary performance." 

In a press conference on March 13, acting PBA president Robert Non explained that the league has forfeited Montreal's benefits and put her on a probationary period for six months.

Willie Marcial, the PBA media bureau chief, confirmed the NBI's involvement, but did not confirm whether polygraph tests were indeed utilized.

"May investigation ang NBI, pero hindi ko alam kung ilalagay sila sa lie-detector test," he said in a phone interview.

Marcial said the board decided to call in an independent third party, the NBI, to find out who is behind the leak and how it happened.

"Kasi confidential files 'yun e. Papaano nakalabas? E nandun din 'yung mga kontrata ng mga players sa amin," he said.

Around eight to 10 of the PBA's total of 38 employees were already summoned by the NBI for the investigation, Marcial said. — APG, GMA News