(photo from Rappler)
Leyte 4th District Congressman Richard Gomez boldly confirmed a circulating video showing him slapping the president of the Philippine Fencing Association (PFA) while attending the SEA Games in Thailand.
According to Gomez, he became angry because PFA President Rene Gacuma turned his back on him while speaking to him.
“Nakatayo ako pinapanuod ko iyong laro eh, tapos lumapit sila sa akin. Tapos noong kinakausap ko na sila biglang tumalikod eh. (I was standing, watching the game, and they approached me. When I started talking to them, they suddenly turned their backs on me. ),” said Gomez.
Gomez added that he had already been upset with Gacuma and the PFA for removing the Ormoc player as an official athlete in the individual fencing event at the SEA Games.
Gomez said he felt sorry for the child because the athlete was deprived of the chance to win a medal, and the government’s funds spent on training the Leyte athlete were wasted.
“Tinanggal nila iyong player namin as an individual player. Pinalitan nila. Ang akin kasi dito nag-qualify iyong bata, nag-qualify siya sa lahat ng qualifying events ng fencing sumali iyan. Nag-number 1, hindi nila natatalo. Nahihirapan sila. (They replaced our player as an individual competitor. The thing is, the child qualified in all the fencing qualifying events, participated in all of them, and ranked number 1. They couldn’t beat the child and were having a hard time),” told Gomez.
On the other hand, Gacuma explained that the decision to replace the athlete from Ormoc was made by the entire coaching staff because the said athlete allegedly violated several rules and was frequently absent from government-funded training sessions.
Congressman Gomez stood firm, saying he will not apologize to Gacuma because his actions were merely the reaction of an athlete who felt sorry for a fellow athlete who could have brought honor to the country. I via The Pipelines Integrated News
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