MANILA, Philippines – Leyte 4th District representative Richard Gomez made headlines in December when Philippine Fencing Association (PFA) president Rene Gacuma accused him of physical assault. 

The incident happened during the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand, where Gomez confronted Gacuma after the PFA decided to replace first-ranked fencer Alexa Larrazabal with Hanniel Abella in the individual event. 

Gacuma said the actor-politician stepped on his foot, squeezed his right thumb hard, struck his nape, and hurled expletives toward him. 

While Gomez aired his side when the incident first erupted, he took the stand at the House of Representatives’ regular session on Tuesday, January 27, to “expose the truth” about the issue and drop serious allegations against several high-ranking PFA officials. 

Here’s a timeline of the case. 

December 14, 2025

Gacuma claims that he and other PFA directors held a meeting on the evening of December 14, unanimously deciding that Abella would replace Larrazabal in the individual event. 

National team coach Rolando “Amat” Canlas had recommended the move due to Larrazabal’s alleged unauthorized and frequent absences from national training in the past three months, failure to submit required visa travel documents for international competitions, and unresponsiveness to constant and repeated reminders from the national coaching staff and teammates regarding her whereabouts.

December 15, 2025

Gacuma says they held a mandatory team managers’ meeting at the tournament venue to discuss the updated competition guidelines and team member replacements, among others. 

According to the PFA president, Abella’s replacement of Larrazabal was “approved without opposition,” adding that other countries also submitted replacement requests and got them approved. 

Gomez allegedly learns of the news of Larrazabal’s replacement on December 15, with Gacuma claiming that the Ikaw Lamang Hanggang Ngayon star threatened to have the PFA’s budget cut by Congress. 

December 16, 2025

Gomez — the second vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee and a competing SEA Games sporting clays athlete himself — confronts Gacuma at the Fashion Island Shopping Mall in Bangkok, Thailand, where the fencing tournament is being held. 

“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 (Did you take this up in the) board meeting in my (Mr. Gomez’s) presence?’ ‘Putang ina mo, Rene, gago ka (You son of a bitch, Rene, you’re an idiot)!’” Gacuma writes in a letter to Philippine delegation chef de mission Raul Canlas. 

Gomez allegedly comes up to Gacuma again at the medical station, where he is having his blood pressure checked. 

“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 just a human resource, you don’t know anything about being an athlete)!’ ‘Sisipain kita diyan (I’ll kick you).’ He added, ‘Alam ko saan ka nakatira (I know where you live)!’ says Gacuma.

Gacuma then states that he would consult with a legal counsel to file charges against Gomez for assaulting him.

December 18, 2025 

Gomez speaks up about his rift with Gacuma in an interview with One Balita Pilipinas. He says that even when he served as the PFA’s president, he had never seen a number-one fencer suddenly get benched. 

He claims that the decision to replace Larrazabal was rooted in favoritism, adding that she had also been subjected to bullying months before the competition. 

“Months before that, binu-bully nila itong si Alexa. Sabi ko, ‘you do not bully an athlete. ‘Wag n’yong babastusin ‘yung mga athletes namin.’ Ako rin, fa-file-an ko rin sila ng kaso for bullying our athlete,” he says. 

(Months before that, they were bullying Alexa. I said, “You do not bully an athlete. Don’t disrespect our athletes.” I will also be filing a case against them for bullying our athlete.)

Reacting to the news that Gacuma was mulling legal action against him, Gomez says he has no problem with that, as he would also be filing a complaint for “emotionally hurting my athlete.” 

January 27, 2026

During his privilege speech at the House of Representatives’ regular session, Gomez acknowledges what he did to Gacuma, but fires back by saying that the PFA’s replacement of Larrazabal violated many rules.

He claims that one of these rules was that the highest-ranked player is automatically selected to compete in both the individual and team events, which both athletic governing bodies ignored, and instead, allegedly tried to place the blame on Larrazabal’s conduct.

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Gomez also refutes the claim that the move was unanimously decided on by the PFA, arguing that he would have known if the meeting transpired, as he is a board member himself.

The 59-year-old actor-politician then reveals that he and Larrazabal’s parents filed separate complaints against Gacuma and Canlas for “grave abuse of authority, oppression, favoritism, serious misconduct, and conflict of interest.”

Gomez proceeds to claim that several PFA officials are using their authority for the benefit of their business interests. He alleges that administrative head Sally Aramburo and Canlas are members of the Board of Trustees of a nonstock corporation called Manila Sports Fencing Alliance Incorporated, adding that its business address is the same as that of Canlas Fencing.

Gomez claims that Aramburo’s heavy involvement in other fencing clubs across the metro had caused young fencers to quit the sport, as she and Canlas allegedly get to decide who gets to compete in certain competitions and which fencers can be included in the rankings.

“There have been reports of fencers whose parents have fallen out of Miss Aramburo’s good graces and have since been denied entry into fencing clubs. As a result, some of these athletes were forced to abandon the sport altogether, while others reportedly left the country just to continue fencing without fear of bullying or exclusion,” says Gomez.

The Walang Hanggan actor then urges the creation of a law that would enforce stricter standards for national sports associations for the protection of Filipino athletes.

This is the second time in four months that Gomez delivers a privilege speech in Congress to address his public conduct that went viral.

He apologized earlier in September for posting screenshots of messages from several Filipino journalists who were asking for his side after he was linked to a flawed flood control project by Matag-ob, Leyte Mayor Bernie Tacoy.

– with reports from Delfin Dioquino/Rappler.com