Wrestling squabble turns ugly; charges filed vs execs

MANILA, Philippines – The squabble and leadership dispute besetting the Wrestling Association of the Philippines (WAP) has worsened as disgruntled athletes took embattled WAP chairman Noli Espejo and president Vincent Piccio III to court. Three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Marcus Valda, a nephew of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, and junior bet Robertson Tubosa on Friday filed criminal charges at the Manila City Hall against Espejo and Piccio over alleged appropriation of allowances intended for athletes as well as withholding of uniforms and shoes. In his complaint-affidavit, Valda accused Espejo of duping him to give the latter P55,000 of his P70,000 allowance from the Philippine Sports Commission for his board and lodging during the 2006 World Wrestling Championships in Guangzhou, China. But he supposedly found out that the said items were already shouldered by the PSC. For his part, Tubosa alleged that Piccio allegedly took away and collected from him and other athletes their wrestling uniforms, including the shoes donated by the South Korean Wrestling Federation. They purportedly never saw the said gears again and were even made to wear “substandard uniforms" for their 2008 Qatar Asian Junior Championships stint. Espejo, meanwhile, denied any wrongdoing, saying it was even the WAP that owes him $3,000, - an amount he shelled out of his own pocket just so the RP team can proceed with their Qatar campaign. Piccio, for his part, could not be reached for comment. The leadership of Piccio and Espejo has been under fire for allegedly mishandling the association, which has purportedly resulted to the country’s failure to send a wrestler to a qualifying event for the last Beijing Olympics. Disgruntled groups inside the association have installed a new set of officers last year with coach Juan Albert Balde as president. The Piccio-Espejo faction, however, has refused to recognized Balde’s election. For Espejo, this is just an offshoot of the last Philippine Olympic Committee election in which his group sided with the rival of the sitting president. “Harassment lang ito at sila (POC president) Peping Cojuangco ang may pakana," said Espejo, whose group voted for Cojuangco’s rival, shooting chief Art Macapagal. The wrestling leadership dispute is currently under arbitration at the POC. Balde and legal counsel Kit Belmonte, meanwhile, said this is just one step in their efforts to “take on the evils in Philippine wrestling." “This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are other wrestlers who have already signified their intent to file similar formal complaints. However, a few wrestlers, who are part of the military, seem to be reluctant to come out as Espejo and Piccio appear to have a clout in the armed forces with the former being a retired colonel and the latter a son of a former air force chief," Balde said. -GMANews.TV