The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) mourns the demise of Professor Erwin Protacio, former president of the Davao-South Regional Football Association (DRFA) and former member of the PFF’s Board of Governors (BOG). He passed away on February 16, 2026.
“Prof. Protacio was one of the pillars of football in Mindanao. He will be remembered for his advocacies and contributions to the growth of football in the region, particularly to grassroots football, coaching education, referee development and the organizing of competitions. He was a dedicated mentor, coach, match commissioner and football association president. We would like to offer our sympathies and prayers to Prof. Protacio’s family and the UP Mindanao community,” PFF President John Anthony Gutierrez said on behalf of the PFF.
Prof. Protacio served as General Secretary before becoming President of DRFA. He was a member of the PFF Board of Governors (equivalent to the current Executive Committee) from 2015 to 2019 during which he was the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the PFF Competitions and a member of the Referees Committee and Futsal Committee.
He was also among the Board of Directors of the Liga Futbol Inc., the organizer Philippines Football League.
He studied and taught at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños before being assigned as Assistant Professor to the sports and physical education program of UP Mindanao in Davao City in 1996.
At UP Mindanao, he was Chair of the Department of Human Kinetics, Director for Office of Extension and Community Service, Padayon (Public Service) Coordinator, and Co-Chairman of the Sports Complex Technical Working Group, which made him instrumental in the realization and construction of the DC-UP Sports Complex..
Coaches and players are extremely grateful for Prof. Protacio’s generosity and service, often hosting coaching courses and national team tryouts in UP Mindanao. He also acted as match commissioner for several PFF competitions in his adopted hometown of Davao.
He studied coaching at Hennes Weisweiler Academy in Hennef, Germany. He was also on the coaching staff of the Philippine Men’s National Team that represented the country in the 1993 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Singapore.
Photo from the University of the Philippines
