Former PSL head Tats Suzara faces lawsuit for P6.76 million

Three checks were found in Suzara’s name, two under Caringal, and six payable to cash – all signed by the former president and treasure. (File Photo: Philippine Superliga/Facebook)

Former Philippine Superliga (PSL) head and current Philippine Southeast (SEA) Games Organizing Committee executive director Ramon “Tats” Suzara is facing a theft complaint worth P6.76 million from the semi-professional volleyball league, with PSL president and board member Adrian Paolo Laurel representing the group.

The funds were allegedly unauthorized, but distributed between 2015 to 2016; both Suzara and former PSL treasurer/finance director Donald Jose Caringal facing charges under the crime of qualified theft from Article 310 of the Revised Penal Code that can lead to 12 years in prison. Three checks were found in Suzara’s name, two under Caringal, and six payable to cash – all signed by the former president and treasurer. The amounts of the checks ranged from P15,000 to P4 million, which totals up to P6,762,946. The checks then did not reflect in the league’s financial records.

In the 11-page complaint, Laurel elaborated, “The withdrawals of the aforementioned amount are unauthorized and were not disclosed to the Board of Directors of the corporation. It was only after PSL secured the services of an external auditor that the foregoing anomaly was discovered.”

He added that the board met to discuss the reasoning behind these withdrawals, but came up with no conclusion. He also shares that during their time working for the league, Suzara and Caringal approached Laurel asking for an external auditor who can be “controlled or dictated upon,” but he rejected the idea. His statement also read, “Since both respondents … withdrew directly from the account of the corporation without any valid authority, each of them abused [their] relationship with the [PSL]. They abused the high degree of confidence given to them through their positions in the corporation. Hence, the taking of the cash of the corporation was done with grave abuse of confidence.”

The first complaint against the two bodies was filed last July 2018, where Laurel worked with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to explore the “irregular and unauthorized disbursements of company funds.” In November, both Suzara and Caringa were asked to explain the checks and withdrawals, but they refused to make a statement.