ADA MILBY was reelected to a fresh two-year term—her third consecutive—as president of Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU).
“I’m honored for the opportunity to continue serving our Philippine Rugby members, stakeholders and communities,” Milby said. “It’s a critical time for us as we reflect on our successes of the past decade and identify areas we need to adapt and improve to future-proof our organization.”
Philippine Rugby also welcomed three newly-elected trustees to the governing board for the next two years—Gareth Holgate of Eagles RFC, Steve Mommaerts of Manila Nomads and Philip Campbell of Cebu Dragons.
Secretary General Rick Santos, meanwhile, has been assigned to an ex-officio role alongside Jaime Urquijo.
Santos and Urquijo have played influential roles for the union for more than a decade and will continue to advise the national sports association as an additional governing support network throughout the transition.
The appointed members are joined by Max Stewart, Rose Lanticse and Ric Bellen for the next 12 months to serve as the Union’s Board of Trustees for 2023.
Holgate is well known around the rugby community having played for the national program for more than a decade. He is the current CEO of SDW Realty.
“It has been a great privilege and honour to have been selected to play for the Volcanoes during the last 12 years, and I have enjoyed the participation and the camaraderie this offered immensely,” Holgate said.
Campbell is the second representative for the Visayas and Mindanao regions. He played a significant role with the Cebu Dragons for the last seven years and was also a national coach for Hong Kong in the 1990s.
“I look forward to growing the game, growing local talent in wider regions outside Luzon and having an impact at a national level,” Campbell said.
Mommaerts has been associated with Manila Nomads and domestic rugby for 14 years and has assisted Philippine Rugby as a match official for the past five years.
“As part of the new board for the PRFU, I will work with my other board members to further drive the vision established by the past PRFU administration in order to build on the foundation for rugby in the Philippines that has been laid,” Mommaerts said.