Richard Gomez accuses Philippine Fencing Association of abuse of power, bullying

2026-01-27 - 14:07

MANILA, Philippines – Leyte 4th District Representative Richard Gomez spoke up yet again on his alleged physical assault of Philippine Fencing Association (PFA) president Rene Gacuma in the 2025 SEA Games last December. This time, however, the actor-politician is alleging that his actions were in the spirit of upholding principle. Gomez took the stand at the House of Representatives’ regular session on Tuesday, January 27, to “expose the truth” and claim that the PFA, Gacuma, and national head coach Ronaldo Canlas were subjecting Filipino fencers to “bullying” and “an abuse of power.” Play Video The actor-politician’s public spat with Gacuma came after the PFA’s decision to replace first-ranked fencer Alexa Larrazabal with third-ranked Hanniel Abella in an individual event during the SEA Games. Gacuma alleged that Gomez stepped on his foot, squeezed his right thumb hard, struck his nape, and hurled expletives toward him at the Fashion Island Shopping Mall in Bangkok, Thailand. Gacuma then stated that he would consult with a legal counsel to file charges against Gomez for assaulting him. While Gomez acknowledged what he did, he defended himself on Tuesday by saying that the PFA’s replacement of Larrazabal violated many rules. “In my over 30 years’ experience in playing and supporting the sport of fencing in the Philippines, this had never been done. By replacing the number one player at the very last hours before the event, Mr. Gacuma and Mr. Canlas had already violated so many rules, both of the PFA and of the Philippine Olympic Committee,” attested Gomez, who is a PFA director and second vice president of the POC. He claimed that one of these rules was that the highest-ranked player is automatically selected to compete in both the individual and team events, which both athletic governing bodies ignored, and instead, allegedly tried to place the blame on Larrazabal’s conduct. Larrazabal was replaced due to her alleged unauthorized and frequent absences from national training in the past three months, failure to submit required visa travel documents for international competitions, and unresponsiveness to constant and repeated reminders from the national coaching staff and teammates regarding her whereabouts. Gomez refuted the claim that the move was unanimously decided on by the PFA, arguing that he would have known if the meeting transpired, as he is a board member himself. The 59-year-old actor-politician then revealed that he and Larrazabal’s parents filed separate complaints against Gacuma and Canlas for “grave abuse of authority, oppression, favoritism, serious misconduct, and conflict of interest.” “If what we have heard so far is already disturbing, let me be clear: this is only the beginning. Underneath the facade of a well-run organization, there have been a number of complaints backed by pieces of evidence, not just of bullying, but of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse of fencers, even some younger than 18 years old,” Gomez said. Gomez proceeded to claim that several PFA officials were using their authority for the benefit of their business interests. He alleged that administrative head Sally Arambulo and Canlas are members of the Board of Trustees of a nonstock corporation called Manila Sports Fencing Alliance Incorporated, adding that its business address is the same as that of Canlas Fencing. Gomez claimed that Arambulo’s heavy involvement in other fencing clubs across the metro had caused young fencers to quit the sport, as she and Canlas allegedly get to decide who gets to compete in certain competitions and which fencers can be included in the rankings. “There have been reports of fencers whose parents have fallen out of Miss Arambulo’s good graces and have since been denied entry into fencing clubs. As a result, some of these athletes were forced to abandon the sport altogether, while others reportedly left the country just to continue fencing without fear of bullying or exclusion,” said Gomez. The Walang Hanggan actor then urged the creation of a law that would enforce stricter standards for national sports associations for the protection of Filipino athletes. This is the second time in four months that Gomez delivered a privilege speech in Congress to address his public conduct that had gone viral. He apologized earlier in September for posting screenshots of messages from several Filipino journalists who were asking for his side after he was linked to a flawed flood control project by Matag-ob, Leyte Mayor Bernie Tacoy. Must Read Richard Gomez apologizes after posting personal info of journalists online – with reports from Delfin Dioquino/Rappler.com