Leyte 4th District Representative Richard Gomez confirmed he had an altercation with Philippine Fencing Association (PFA) President Rene Gacuma but questioned the federation’s decision to bench the country’s No. 1 fencer, Alexa Larrazabal, during the 33rd Southeast Asian Games.
In an interview, Gomez said he confronted PFA officials to defend Larrazabal after she was removed from the women’s individual epee on the eve of the event.
“Nagkaroon kami ng confrontation dun sa venue ng fencing. Tumawag sa akin ‘yung former national coach namin which is national coach namin sa modern pentathlon. Ang ginawang desisyon, ‘yung No. 1 fencer sa epee, the night before, bigla nilang tinanggal, hindi nila pinalaro,” he said.
“Never nangyari sa amin ‘yan na No. 1 fencer ka, tapos hindi ka pinalaro,” Gomez added.
Regarding the alleged physical attack, Gomez claimed, “Eh siya lumalapit sa akin eh. Alangan namang halikan ko siya doon. Kung lumapit siya sa akin, eh ‘di sige, kung ‘yun ang gusto niya, sino ba naman ako para umatras.”
Gacuma previously reported the incident to Team Philippines’ chef de mission Jose Raul Canlas and plans to file charges against Gomez.