PSC puts aid to cycling on hold
The Philippine Sports Commission is holding any assistance to the Philippine Cycling Federation, which is under fire from riders within the national team.
The cyclists, including 2007 SEA Games gold medalists Alfie Catalan and Maritess Bitbit, have hurled various accusations against their head coach, Jomel Lorenzo.
The cyclists claimed that Lorenzo is behind the alleged overpricing and misrepresentation of equipment that were supposed to be used by the RP riders in international competitions.
They alleged that a US-made bike, worth P298,000, that was requested, approved and released by the PSC never reached the cyclists, and instead landed in a bike shop in
Instead, the cyclists said they received a Taiwan-made bike worth P199,000. They also mentioned overpricing of certain equipment.
Philcycling president Bert Lina has encouraged the investigation, and said that the association will actively participate in it.
The cyclists yesterday brought the case to the Ombudsman, which may or may not have jurisdiction over the case since Philcycling is not a government entity.
Still, PSC chairman Butch Ramirez welcomed the move.
“The PSC will comply with any Ombudsman investigation,” said Ramirez, adding that the government agency will hold its support of Philcycling “until the issue is resolved.”
“The PSC is pro-athlete and at the same time we are not against the NSAs (national sports associations). We will not take any action while the investigation is going on. We will comply.”
Ramirez said the PSC’s purchase of the equipment were done above board, and whatever happened to them afterwards is something that should be settled within the association.
“We don’t want to accuse anyone while there’s an investigation,” said Ramirez, who said the cyclists in the RP team should continue to receive support in terms of training allowances. – Abac Cordero
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