BANGKOK, Thailand — Leyte lawmaker Richard Gomez is in hot water after physically and verbally assaulting a Philippine sports official during the 33rd Southeast Asian Games here.
A video of the incident saw the actor-politician hit Philippine Fencing Association (PFA) president Rene Gacuma at the back of his head after a commotion last Tuesday during the first day of the fencing competition at the Fashion Island Hall here.
Gacuma wrote an incident report to Philippine delegation Chief of Mission Dr. Raul Canlas detailing Gomez’s violent actions.
The 64-year-old federation chief said Gomez, a congressman in Leyte’s fourth district and also serves as director of the PFA and second vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee, confronted him about the team’s decision to sit out Alexa Larrazabal in the women’s individual epee event.
Gacuma said Gomez insulted and threw expletives at him while PFA director Carlos Angelo “Chips” Dayrit, and PFA administrative officer Sally Arambulo tried to pacify the situation as the commotion caught the attention of the audience present in the gallery.
“I managed to release my right foot he was stepping on and as I turned my back on him to leave, he reached out to strike the back of my head (nape area) with what I felt was a hard closed-fist right hook,” Gacuma recalled.
Gacuma, a senior citizen who is in a pacemaker after undergoing a heart surgery, added that he went to the medical station as his blood pressure shot up when Gomez charged at him. He said Gomez forcefully capped his jawline with his right hand before starting to verbally assault him once again and threatened to kick him.
Gacuma said he will consult his legal counsel and file charges. He has also requested a copy of the CCTV footage of the incident.
In a statement, Gomez said he respects Gacuma’s decision to file a complaint but he will also raise the emotional bullying that Larrazabal suffered at the hands of the PFA officials.
“It is his right to file a complaint, there’s no problem in that. But she is our athlete, in a way, we spent money to develop her then they will just disrespect her like that by not allowing her to play,” Gomez, who won a silver medal in the shooting competition earlier this week said. His daughter, Juliana, also competed in the women’s individual epee event of the SEA Games.
“They don’t have that kind of experience as a national athlete, that’s why they made the wrong decision.”
Larrazabal, the No. 1-ranked fencer in the epee ranking of the Philippine team, was replaced by Hanniel Abella during the SEAG fencing team managers meeting last Monday.
The decision to replace Larrazabal was recommended by the coaching staff headed by Rolando “Amat” Canlas due to her alleged frequent and unauthorized absences from training in the past three months, non-compliance with travel documentary requirements, including one for a training camp in South Korea, and failing to respond to coaches and teammates about her whereabouts.