After silver win, Goma back in SEAG news for assault, threats
Leyte Rep. Richard “Goma” Gomez set off a trending topic from the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG)—but not as a sportsman.
Gomez, a celebrity-turned-politician who on Tuesday won a silver medal in shooting at the ongoing regional meet in Bangkok, Thailand, made more SEAG news for hitting a sports executive in the Philippine delegation. The Dec. 16 incident was caught on video.
Philippine Fencing Association (PFA) president Rene Gacuma has accused Gomez of assaulting and threatening him over a decision made by the group that angered the lawmaker.
In a letter addressed to SEA Games chef de mission Raul Canlas, Gacuma said the incident stemmed from the replacement of fencer Alexa Larrazabal in the individual women’s epee event, a decision that he said was reached unanimously by PFA directors on the night of Dec 14.
Gomez is a member of the PFA board and is the second vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee.
According to Gacuma, Gomez allegedly showed “clear resentment and anger” after learning about the replacement during the team dinner on Dec. 15.
“I’m in Pattaya, two hours away, but I’ll be going after you!,” the PFA official said, quoting Gomez’s first threatening message.
“I’ll have all PFA directors summoned to Congress so we can see if you’ll still be getting any budget,” the lawmaker was further quoted as saying.
Foot, thumb, nape
The incident happened on Dec. 16 at Fashion Island, the fencing tournament venue, two days after the PFA decision to replace Larrazabal.
“Attorney Mike Abundo, Mr. Chips Dayrit and myself went down from our seats in the gallery to present ourselves with the intention of also congratulating (Gomez for) his recent silver medal achievement in the shooting event,” Gacuma recalled. “When I extended my right hand to congratulate Mr. Gomez, he planted his right foot heavily on my left foot, to limit my mobility.”
“He squeezed my right thumb very hard like he wanted to dislocate it and simultaneously said ‘Who gave you the authority to replace that athlete!? Na take up ninyo ito sa board meeting in my presence?! (Did you take this up at the board meeting in my presence?!)’”
He said Gomez also cursed at him during the encounter.
Gacuma said he was able to release his foot only after PFA administrative officer Sally Aramburo intervened to ease the tension.
“As I turned my back on (Gomez) 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. Let me reiterate that my back was already turned away from him,” Gacuma said.
More threats at med station
The PFA official said he needed to go afterwards to the medical station at the venue as he felt a spike in his blood pressure. But Gomez, he said, still followed him there and made more threats.
“Mr. Gomez walked toward me [at] a quick pace. While seated at the medical station and in the presence of the Thai medical volunteers, he literally capped my jawline forcefully with his right hand and said ‘’Di mo alam ang ginagawa mo! HR ka … HR ka lang; wala [kang] alam sa pagiging atleta! (You don’t know what you’re doing! You’re HR … just HR; you don’t know anything about being an athlete).’”
Gomez allegedly made another threat to “kick” him, before warning Gacuma that “I know where you live!”
In his letter to Canlas, Gacuma also said he is a quadruple bypass survivor who now wears a heart pacemaker.
The medical team who attended to him after the assault told him that his blood pressure had reached 220/180, he said.
Gacuma said he would consult a lawyer to file a complaint later against Gomez.
“This report is submitted with the urgency of attention it requires and rightfully deserves. Mr. Richard I. Gomez is so unbecoming of a public official and our NSA (National Sports Association) will deliberate and address a severe charge of misconduct against him,” he said.
‘I was so mad’
In an interview reported on News5, Gomez justified his actions, saying Gacuma was the one who “approached me … (so) who am I to back away?”
“They decided on the eve of the event that our No. 1 fencer in epee (Larrazabal) was struck off the roster (of players for the event),” Gomez said. “That has never happened to us (at PFA), that you are the No. 1 fencer and you don’t get to play.”
“I haven’t seen the video (of the incident),” Gomez said. “We had a confrontation. I was so mad. When the country is fighting for a medal, you don’t field the weaker player.”
Reached for comment regarding the incident, POC president Bambol Tolentino said that Gacuma and Gomez—“being mature people” should settle the matter between themselves.
“We know the story, but it hasn’t come to us officially yet,” Tolentino told reporters. “They should settle the matter among themselves. They’re old enough as it is.
“Definitely, we will not tolerate that,” the POC chief said. “But being mature people, they should know the difference between right and wrong. So they should come to terms on that level.”
