By Tina G. Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
They give dogs a bad name so why not change their name from Azkals to, say, rascals?
“Change the name to something else … asong kalye (street dogs),” former first lady Amelita “Ming” Ramos said when asked to comment on the sexual harassment case filed by her daughter, Cristy Ramos, against some members of the country’s national football team.
Speaking to reporters, the former first lady said she fully supported her daughter’s decision to file the case, saying, “They (the players) should behave.”
“They should have just respected her (Cristy). Instead they were laughing when she was checking their credentials,” Ming said. “Let’s behave. Nakakahiya ang Filipino (It’s a shame on Filipinos).”
Need for discipline
She called on the Azkals team captain, James Younghusband, to discipline his teammates. “He didn’t do anything to control his teammates. I hope he teaches his team members to behave well.”
The name “Azkals” is a play on the Filipino term for stray dogs (asong kalye), or dogs without a home or pedigree. The name caught fire with the inclusion into the team of players of mixed Filipino and foreign parentage.
Violating ethical norms
Cristy, who served as match commissioner of the international football friendly, or exhibition match, pitting the Philippines and Malaysia last week, has filed a sexual harassment complaint with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) against Azkals players Angel Guirado and Lexton Moy.
The former presidential daughter said she felt insulted when she conducted a prematch inspection inside the Azkals’ dugout at Rizal Memorial Stadium.
She alleged that “some players ridiculed her, with one player disrespectfully asking for the size of her brassiere, which was followed by a roar of laughter.”
Another player, Cristy claimed, appeared before her half naked during the inspection, in violation of ethical norms.
FVR agrees
Former President Fidel V. Ramos said he and his wife agreed with the position their daughter had taken on the matter.
Noting that his daughter once had held various positions in sports, he said: “She sure knows what she’s talking about.”
Alluding to the Azkals, the former President said: “Win some games, but behave well as Filipinos.”
Pro and con
The Ramos couple spoke to reporters at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday prior to leaving for Taiwan, where the former President was to meet with Taiwanese business groups.
Two party-list representatives disagreed on how to tackle the issue facing the two Azkals players.
Ang Kasangga Representative Teodoro Haresco took up the cudgels for Moy and Guirado, while Gabriela Representative Luz Ilagan supported Ramos’ daughter.
Haresco said the Azkals should be given a “time-out” from the controversy to allow the players to focus on their forthcoming matches in the AFC Challenge Cup.
“It’s tough enough to go against the World Cup qualifier, North Korea, in your first game; it is tougher still to go against the shrill voices in your own country that clamor (for) your head,” Haresco said in a text message.
“While the Filipino has to defend the Filipina, let the investigation be in the quiet corridors of the authorities concerned,” he added.
Ilagan said the incident should not be dismissed as a “miscommunication” because that would be unjust to Cristy and to other Filipino women.
“The likes of Angel Guirado and Lexton Moy, as well as their teammates who tolerated their improper comments, should be given lessons in respect and decorum … Young boys look up to them and their actions do not set a good example for the youth,” Ilagan said.
Ilagan proposed that Congress strengthen the antisexual harassment law to make it more responsive to the changing times since it was approved 17 years ago. With a report from Gil C. Cabacungan
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