Still reeling from a controversy that stemmed from the fielding of an overaged player in the 2006 Regional Palaro, Negros Occidental school sports has been hit by another age-cheating incident, this time, in its own Provincial Athletic Meet.

The Department of Education has reportedly stripped Area V, represented by Pahilanga Elementary School from Hinigaran, of the boys' volleyball crown, after it was discovered to have paraded an ineligible player in the Provincial Meet held in Bacolod City in December.

The title has been awarded to losing finalist, Area III, composed of Silay City players, a source privy to the details of the case but is not authorized to speak to the media, said yesterday.

A hearing on the case is scheduled today at the office of Eva Belicina, Negros Occidental schools division superintendent, the source said. DepEd legal counsel Jovim Entila is also expected to attend the hearing, along with the coaches and players of Area III and Area V.

The hearing comes a week before Negros Occidental hosts the Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association Meet from Feb. 18-23 in Bacolod City.

The DAILY STAR tried but failed to contact Belicina for comment last night.

The discrepancy was actually discovered by a member of the Area III coaching staff during the December 2006 Palaro but the DepEd only upheld the protest filed against Area III a few weeks ago, after verifying the real age of the concerned player with the National Statistics Office, the source said.

The player, whose name is being withheld by the DAILY STAR because he is a minor, was actually teammates with his younger brother in the Area V squad. The birth-date listed in the registration form of the over-aged player indicated that he was only a month older than his younger brother, the source said.

It was the second cheating incident involving Negros Occidental in less than a year.

Narciso Jayme, then coach of the Negros Occidental secondary baseball team in the WVRAA Meet, was discovered to have fielded an over-aged player in the Regional Palaro held in Roxas City in March.

Jayme, a teacher at Dr. Antonio Lizares Memorial High School, was meted a lifetime coaching ban by the Region VI Department of Education for his action. *CPT

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