PSC upholds decision to remove 2 athletics coaches from payroll

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Sports Commission has upheld its decision to deny athletics coach Joseph Sy and Roselyn Hamero from receiving a monthly salary upon the recommendation of the independent three-man committee tasked to dig deep into the issue.

The recommendation came from Philippine Olympic Committee chairman and triathlon chief Tom Carrasco, PSC board secretary and legal counsel Yen Chan and badminton coach Allan de Leon.

"The board decided upon the recommendation of the committee to remove them from our payroll," said PSC chairman Richie Garcia after yesterday's board meeting that last three and a half hours.

Sy was taken out of the payroll by the government sports-funding agency for allegedly failing to supervise the training of elite athletes in Baguio City and staying most of the time in Manila, leaving the national team members he was supposed to be coaching to train on their own.

For Hamero, she was accused of forging the signature of PATAFA secretary-general Benjamin Silva-Netto falsifying hurdler Josie Malacad's qualifying time to make the roster to the 2011 Palembang Southeast Asian Games.

Both Sy and Hamero, who lost Php20,000 each due to the suspension, vehemently denied the allegations and explained their side when they got their turn to have an audience with the fact-finding group of Carrasco, Chan and de Leon.

Worse, the PSC has reportedly banned Sy from all PSC-managed premises like the Rizal Memorial Complex in Manila, the Philsports Arena in Pasig and the Teacher's Camp in Baguio allegedly for the latter's money-lending business.

"Also, the PSC we will not allow Sy in PSC premises to stop money-lending racket," a source privy to the PSC board told The STAR.

Sy, Hamero and PATAFA chief Go Teng Kok, who has formed his own investigating committee headed by Air21's Bert Lina to challenge the decision of Carrasco's group, is expected to seek the relief of the legal court after threatening as early as last month to file a civil case against the PSC.