PINOY PELOTARI

Don't look now, but I just heard about the possible re-opening of jai-alai games in the country. In addition, some influential persons are silently pushing for opening a track for dog races right here.

By way of pointing out how decent and honest the jai-alai was before Pinoys took over management of the fronton, among the amateur pelotaris training to play with Basque players were Enriquito Zobel, Neling and Rene Nieto, Danny Vasquez, Ossy Abad Santos, Baby Ysmael, Juancho Lao, Tony Vallejo, Poteng Tillman, Philip Monserrat, Pat Ilano, Tony Beltran and my very own father Ariel Bocobo.

But they soon lost interest and gave up the games when they sensed that certain crooked manipulators were slowly taking over the fronton and the decent and honest Basque players were quietly being eased out. They were proven right and soon enough the fronton became a hotbed of vice and corruption, and Pinoy pelotaris became notorious for throwing games and the good elements of society began to boycott the fronton.

One needed clarification. Jai-alai is not a Spanish game. It is a game of the proud Basques who continue to be the hated enemies of the Spaniards. Those occasional bombings in Spain are by the Euskadi, the Basque rebel group feared by the Spanish guardia civil.

In Madrid hotels not too long ago, there were still signs which read, "No dogs or Basques allowed." That's how bitter these two races hate each other.

(Image from http://estancabigas.com/)

AN OLD 'ATRASO'

Do you remember how then Manila Mayor Lito Atienza stonewalled on his rejection of a plea by cultural leaders and heritage conservationists not to demolish the old art-deco Jai-Alai building they claimed was a historical landmark? Atienza was in favor of a new hall of justice to take the place of an old edifice, perhaps a favorite hang-out once of our grandparents. He angrily scolded the civic leaders seeking retention of the original Jai-Alai building saying that these people had long neglected the structure until it became rickety and abandoned, where nothing about it was done. The former mayor said the building was an ugly reminder of its past as a gambling place where many lives were destroyed and the morals of the young were warped by gambling lords controlling the Basque Pelota games. This from a guy who moonlights as a valet for Manny Pacquiao, where gambling lords are known to bet heavily on the champ each time he boxes. Gambling as against justice for the people? Atienza argued no way would he give in to the demands of the petitioners to save a cultural heritage.

He may have a point here, but it is arguable. Many had said that if he really wanted a hall of justice, there was the old GSIS building right beside the Manila City Hall and several nearby government properties he could have easily asked for a song from Malacanang to build his proposed multi-million peso hall of justice.

The Jai-Alai in the 1930s and the 1940s wasn't just a gambling establishment. It was the venue for important official and social functions mostly at the Sky Room which was also a favorite place of President Quezon, and it was a place where important social events were held with the country's political, social and economic elite gathered, often led by the powerful Madrigal family which built the establishment. Jai-Alai then was not just a form of gambling. It was an elegant and genteel form of entertainment with all the fineries of European (Spanish) nobility, much like those seen in British peerage gatherings as the blue blood races at Ascot and the annual sculling contests between Harvard and Yale in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Atienza should never forget that Rome never tore down its famed Colosseum, which was the venue for glory gladiator fights, the massacre of Christian martyrs, and the scene of gruesome death combats by slaves to entertain blood-thirsty Romans. If the rulers then had the same time mindset shared by Atienza, that awe-inspiring ruins would be no more. Warsaw, Poland was the most destroyed city in World War II followed only by Manila. 83 percent of the city was bombed flat to the ground, and since then has risen to become one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The Poles preserved all the remaining old buildings and went further by rebuilding those heritage edifices destroyed by the war. Even the cobblestones in most of the city were restored. As a result of such love for the past, the historic facade of Stare Miasto (Old Town) was reconstructed to include the impressive Royal Castle and Museum, and even the age-old royal apartments. They also restored Renaissance and Baroque Rynek Starego Miasta (The Market Square) even when there were others who urged these to be demolished.

Didn't they say, especially our old folks, that if you don't honor the past, there will be no future for you? But Atienza probably didn't have the time to be sentimental about the past long forgotten. He was too busy pushing to reach the top of the hill. And sometimes, when you have such apathy, you stumble.

Well, he's running for mayor again in Manila in 2010, perhaps not contented with his demolition jobs for Manila's historic edifices?

Remember the Mehan Garden? He tore it down too.

(Image from http://www.fotosearch.com/)

EL FALLO DEL JUEZ ES INAPELABLE

Jai-Alai or Pelota Basca is a game close to my heart, having watched my father play the game as an amateur pelotari at a local Cancha or at the main fronton on Taft Avenue with the late great Don Enrique Zobel and other Spanish-mestizo gents. I was a very young boy then, and I thought that the game had something to do with men who played the game just had real "cojones." Some time last year, the Arroyo administration, known for its fondness for gambling, not to mention its milking cow Pagcor, invited possible investors for the planned relaunch of Jai-Alai in the country. If you recall, Jai-Alai was first played over a hundred years ago in its first venue along Taft Avenue, Manila, with its historic art-deco building. But that part of our history is gone forever, thanks to the callousness and self-serving Lito Atienza, who was then mayor of Manila. After the Taft operations shut down, Jai-Alai again saw life when Belle Corporation and Filipinas Gaming Entertainment Totalisator Corporation (FilGame), in partnership with Pagcor, re-opened Jai-Alai games to the public in a new 2,600-seat venue in Manila, just next to the Harrison Plaza. Both Basque and Pinoy players competed against each other to the delight of betting fans and spectators. The games were banned in 1986 by the Aquino administration after a game-fixing scandal. Then, an attempt to resurrect the games was made in 1994, but the Supreme Court banned it again on the grounds that gambling was against national interest and that the games had to be franchised only by the national government. Pagcor said it sought clearance from the Department of Justice (DoJ) and from Malacanang for its resumption, but several senators and the Catholic church had opposed its re-launch, declaring that it victimizes low-income groups which cannot afford to gamble.

Today, things are under way for its resumption (again) far from Manila. Its new venue will be in the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), brainchild of newly-installed Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile Sr. The invitation was presented by CEZA CEO and administrator Jose Mari Ponce during the opening day of a two-day Spain-Philippines business meet held last year. CEZA is a government unit under the Office of the President, and operates/manages a 50,000 hectare eco-zone in Cagayan. In his speech last year, Ponce encouraged Spanish investors to set up the Jai-Alai games in Cagayan. His speech has now reaped much fruit. For not only did the Spaniards reciprocate favorably, it even reeled in a local gambling lord in the person of Charlie 'Atong' Ang who stands to be the local partner of the Spaniards with the blessings of the masters of Cagayan Province. With this, CEZA could well become the virtual gaming center in the country. It is said that through virtual gaming, clients may play the games through proxies without necessarily being present there. Asked about the historical opposition of several sectors to Jai-Alai and other forms of gambling, CEZA PR head Chris Valenzona said that although the proposed games encouraged betting, local bets will never be allowed. Well, that remains to be seen. Easy to say that, because greed does have a way of creeping into the noblest of intentions. For even if these were to be exclusive to foreign players such as the Chinese and Koreans who are among the biggest clients of CEZA, Pinoys will always want a piece of the action, especially if it's a fast way to make a pile. In 2007, CEZA raised PhP110 million in revenues where 90 percent comes from casino earnings. With the construction of the airport, CEZA revenues were projected to double to over PhP200 million last year. CEZA's virtual gaming operations are cornered by its major locator, the First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corporation. It also is a joint-venture partner of CEZA. So, it seems that the Eusko Group of Spain has found a local partner in Atong Ang. With this, methinks that the gaming syndicates are already planning something lucrative for them as well. But everything is in the bag now, and the judge's decision is final, or should I say, "El fallo del juez es inapelable," and who would dare cross paths with Enrile and question the re-opening of the Jai-Alai games in his Republic of Cagayan, especially now that he is the third most powerful man in the country.

(Images from http://media.collegepublisher.com/ & http://www.fotosearch.com/)