Philippine Rugby Announces New Appointments

Philippine Rugby congratulates Rose Mae Lanticse and Jake Letts as the newly appointed Secretary General and Board Trustee, respectively. Former Secretary General Ric Bellen stepped down from his position in January creating a vacancy on the Board. After a thorough review of potential candidates and current needs of the Union, the Trustees unanimously agreed at their April meeting to co-opt Jake Letts to fill in Bellen’s vacant position for the remainder of the term ending in December. During the said meeting, Rose Mae Lanticse was also appointed as the Secretary General of the Union.

Letts has served PRFU in a number of different capacities across the better part of two decades. Recruited as one of the first international heritage players in 2005, he represented the Volcanoes in 15s and 7s as a player until 2017 when he stepped up into the National Teams Manager and eventually into the roles of General Manager and CEO. In order to accept the appointment to step up again as a PRFU Board Trustee, Letts has elected to take a General Manager role in Australia, signing with the Warringah Rugby Club in the Shute Shield for New South Wales premier rugby competition.

Letts shared, “I have thoroughly enjoyed being connected to the Union and that will remain status quo with the transition into this new role. As I step down from the operational team, I look forward to stepping up and across into the strategic advisory level for PRFU”.

Lanticse has also served the Union for more than a decade. She started as a player in 2011 when the women's program was first launched before heading up PRFU's Get Into Rugby Program and then shifting to a director role with SOS Children's Villages. She was elected in 2021 and will be serving her second year as a Trustee. Lanticse was also recently appointed as the lead for Philippines Olympic Committee's Safe Sport Commission’s Training & Education in Safeguarding.

In accepting her new role, Lanticse shared, "It is my mission is to amplify the voices and promote the active participation of athletes and the wider community in developing rugby as a safe, inclusive, and premier sports in the Philippines."

President of PRFU, Ada Milby commented, "Jake has a wealth of experience running the day to day operations of the Union and handling the national teams, which means we can keep that institutional memory within the organisation. I'm delighted to see Jake step into this role that keeps him involved at the strategic level while also taking steps forward in his rugby administration career". She went on to say, "Rose also brings a lot an experience working with government agencies with a specific focus on grassroots development. Having a board with a diverse range of views and backgrounds puts us in a position to make better decisions considering all the complexities of developing Rugby in Philippines and performing on the international stage."

​Letts and Lanticse will serve alongside Ada Milby, Gareth Holgate, Steve Mommaerts, Phil Campbell and Max Stewart as Board of Trustees for the year 2023.