PRFU confirms Ada Milby as new President

Ada Milby has been confirmed as the first female President of the Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU), taking over from Rick Santos, who had served out his maximum term of eight straight years.

PRFU Presidency

Ada Milby

Milby was unanimously elected by 15 senior club and school representatives in the Philippines along with seven incumbent board of trustees.

Rick Santos does, however, remain on the PRFU board as Secretary-General. He will continue his role as a Board member after being unanimously elected to the role for 2021.

Jake Letts remains as the PRFU Chief Executive Officer and said: “Rick’s been tremendous for the PRFU, and serving an 8-year term as President speaks for itself. Luckily for the Union, he’s been elected to the role of Secretary-General so we can continue to build on the legacy he’s created. He’s always been passionate about Philippine Rugby and, in particular, has been a strong advocate for youth rugby, sponsoring junior and grassroots programs and creating opportunities for young and underprivileged youngsters to prosper in our national programs. I look forward to continuing working with Rick in building a successful organisation.”

“I am also hopeful that we can resume national athlete training in 2021 as both our men’s and women’s teams are competing at the elite level of Asia Rugby in the 7s format,” added Milby. “I’m thankful that Rick will continue to serve in the capacity of Sec-Gen as it will truly take a team to get through these difficult times and his wisdom will continue to be an essential asset to Philippine Rugby.”

Ada told World Rugby in an interview that she would like to look at the Philippine Rugby Football Union governance even though more than 50 per cent of the PRFU’s staff and development officers are women.

Asia Rugby and World Rugby positions – Ada Milby

Milby already has held, and holds, a long list of roles in rugby in particular. She currently is in roles with Asia Rugby and World Rugby – in December 2020, she was confirmed to continue her role as the only female position on the new Asia Rugby EXCO as a World Rugby Representative in her position of World Rugby Council Member. She is also the Chairperson of the Women’s Advisory Committee, working with eleven other Asian women to help develop the game.

In late November 2020, Milby also ran for the role of second vice-president with the Philippines Olympic Committee (POC) but lost the election to Richard Gome, president of the Philippine Fencing Association.

In 2019, we spoke with Ada, who at the time already held several concurrent positions, while still actively representing the Philipinnes in rugby at a national level. At the time she also explained her roles, her rugby journey, and mission to transform gender inclusivity in the sport.

Milby told us:

“There will always be areas to improve gender inclusion and equity practices, but I think as a region we are world-leading with our competition structures (we have the most robust regional competition structure globally), and gender-specific policy changes in the past few years.”

Asian Rugby News

• World Rugby updates transgender participation guidelines.
• The PRFU go gender-neutral.
• Rugby World Cup 2021.
• Your Guide to the Asia Rugby 2021 Competitions.