Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Billiard Players Lodge Complaint vs Coach

*Disclaimer: Let it be known that although Irineo Gutierrez is officially listed as assistant coach, He is NOT a former billiard player nor does he have ANY qualifications as a coach or any form of Billiard official. He was apointed to the position by Mr. Arturo Ilagan

Here is an account of the complaints lodged by the national billiard team on Irineo Gutierrez as published in Malaya last Feb 23, 2012.

view original article here: http://www.malaya.com.ph/02232012/sports9.html


BY BONG PEDRALVEZ
SEVERAL billiards and pool players in the national pool led by double Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Iris Ranola have accused one of their coaches of submitting a fake January attendance sheet and hinted he may have been skimming off the allowances of the athletes as well.

The players met with PSC chief Richie Garcia and executive assistant Atty. Gil Iroy last Tuesday to filed a complaint against Ireneo Gutierrez, who submitted an attendance sheet they claimed was false.

"He (Gutierrez) was not even around when we were practicing so I was assigned to monitor the attendance of our practices," said Ranola, who was joined by Rubilen Amit, Warren Kiamco and coaches Edgar Asonto and Reynaldo Grandea, among others.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Ranola said they were forced to monitor their practices among themselves because of the continued absence of Gutierrez at their training venue at the Philippine Center for Sports Medicine building inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

They said they requested billiards association chairman Aristeo Puyat to sign the attendance sheet for the month of January because billiards president Bong Ilagan and secretary- general Robert Mananquil were both "unavailable." The attendance sheet is necessary so the athletes and coaches could claim their PSC stipends for January.

The group noted Gutierrez marked Asonto as "absent" despite the fact the latter was present in the team’s workouts. Kiamco, a former Asian 9-ball champion, was also deemed "absent" while he was vying in the Derby City Classic in the US on Jan. 20-28.

Players in the national pool are exempted from training when they are competing abroad but are still entitled to allowances from the PSC.

"Kasama ko sila Efren "Bata" Reyes, Django Bustamante and Dennis Orcollo sa Derby City Classic, so paano ako magiging absent?" Kiamco, 38, said.

The group said Gutierrez noted in his attendance sheet that billiards players Carlos Biado, Jeffrey de Luna and Jundel Mazon were all playing overseas last month when they were, in fact, in the country.

Ranola claimed they had heard of stories of Gutierrez reputedly asking a "cut" from the athletes’ allowances "and we believe we now have proof (through the false attendance sheet) that he has been doing just that."

Snooker players Felipe Tauro, Michael Mengoro and Rodolfo Lordan Jr. said they were instructed by Gutierrez not to report for practice last month because they would no longer receive allowances "based on what he (Gutierrez) read in the papers."

Judith Laygo, NSA affairs head of the PSC, said there was no directive from the PSC board to stop the allowances of the athletes in the national pool last month.

Iroy said Gutierrez showed up at his office to explain his side on the issue shortly after the group of athletes and coaches had left.

"I asked Gutierrez to make a formal letter to reply to the complaint of the players, but until today (Wednesday) he has not given it to me," Iroy said, adding he has been instructed by Garcia to withhold Gutierrez’s allowance.

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