Antonio's Woes Continue

So who really blundered in the whole GM Antonio vs NCFP controversy?

Antonio, if you recall, was dropped from the Philippine Olympiad squad because the NCFP big wigs weren't quite happy with him missing two major RP events and, instead, heading off to the States to play in tournaments there. The RP number two later sued.

But there are questions remaining here. Did Antonio have the approval to head off to the States in the first place? Philippine papers have quoted him as saying, "I passed through the proper channels for my US trip. It was Mr. Pichay himself who signed the recommendation to the PSC. Now, why am I being banned for missing the tournaments here?"

OK, Antonio did, and even Pichay admitted giving the green light. But why in the world did the ex-polie do that if he really wanted Antonio to play in the two RP tournaments. Hec, even the Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia has the same question.

One would hope that Mr Garcia keeps those questions in mind. For now it looks like the NCFP is lobbying for the PSC to drop Antonio from their roster of athletes and effectively depriving the grandmaster of his P20,000 monthly allowance. That just seems kind of spiteful, if you ask me. There was no due process, no please explained, nothing, nada.

Antonio's right: it's more politics than anything else, I think.