Erring track coaches out of PSC payroll

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Sports Commission upheld its decision to drop athletics coaches Joseph Sy and Roselyn Hamero from the PSC payroll upon the recommendation of the independent three-man committee tasked to investigate the case.

“The board decided based on the recommendation of the committee to remove them from our payroll,” said PSC chairman Richie Garcia after yesterday’s board meeting.

The fact-finding committee was composed of Philippine Olympic Committee chairman and triathlon chief Tom Carrasco, PSC board secretary and legal counsel Yen Chan and badminton coach Allan de Leon.

Sy was dropped off the payroll 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 to train on their own.

Hamero, on the other hand, was accused of forging the signature of Patafa secretary-general Benjamin Silva-Netto and falsifying hurdler Josie Malacad’s qualifying time to make the roster to the 2011 Palembang SEA Games.

Both Sy and Hamero, who receive a monthly stipend P20,000 each before their suspension, vehemently denied the charges and explained their side before the fact-finding group.

The PSC has also 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.

Sy and Hamero, and Patafa chief Go Teng Kok, however, are expected to seek a court injunction. Go has also formed his own investigating committee headed by Air21’s Bert Lina to challenge the decision of Carrasco’s group.