Arroyo sues NGAP on election issues

FORMER Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel Arroyo and businessman Rodolfo Soriano Jr. filed a case with the Pasig City Regional Trial Court to invalidate the results of the April 5 election of the board of trustees of the National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) due to alleged violations of the association’s bylaws.

In their complaint filed on April 19—as stated in a press release sent the Businessmirror on Wednesday—arroyo and Soriano asked the court to also declare the annual general council meeting of NGAP on April 5 at the Alabang Country Club null and void.

The lawsuit named Martin Ignacio Lorenzo, NGAP president; Valeriano Floro II, secretary general; Avelino Sumagui, nominating and election committee (NOMELEC) chairman; and Marcus Antonius Andaya, Norbert Chico, Jose Geralrd L. Asuncion and Raymond Bunquin, members of NGAP NOMELEC.

The complaint alleges that in December 2023, Arroyo and Soriano learned from friends in the golf community that NGAP planned to schedule its annual general council meeting and election of its board of trustees in early 2024.

Upon hearing complaints of mismanagement and dissatisfaction with the NGAP leadership, Arroyo and Soriano decided to run for seats on the board. They reviewed NGAP’S bylaws, focusing on the annual meeting and election procedures.

Believing change was necessary within NGAP due to these alleged anomalies, Arroyo and Soriano filed their candidacies and solicited proxies from other club members for the upcoming elections.

However, the NGAP’S NOMELEC disqualified some proxies submitted on the grounds that they failed to comply with the requirements imposed on the “official proxy form.”