MANILA – Local wrestling officials are getting back at Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Harry Angping for demanding that they settle P4.4 million in “unpaid balances” for the hosting of the 2009 Asian Juniors Wrestling Championships last July.

In an interview on ANC's Hardball, Wrestling Association of the Philippines (WAP) officials said they filed a graft charge against Angping for allegedly misappropriating P3 million from the wrestling competition.

WAP treasurer Alvin Aguilar said the PSC asked them to turn over P3 million worth of entry fees from 500 wrestlers from 15 participating Asian countries. He said the group turned over the amount to the PSC based on a verbal agreement that the same funds will be entrusted back to the WAP after the PSC had accounted for it.

He said the PSC chairman used the P3 million to pay Image Travel Agency to take care of the travel bookings in the sports event, and eventually be considered the event organizer.

“When we first talked to them they said it (funds) will go through us and we will be the ones who will disperse the funds. What happened was the only funds that came out were the payment to the travel agency and the meals,” said Aguilar.

WAP vice-president Marcus Valda said the PSC's decision to pay Image Travel and award them the rights to organize the event did not go through public bidding.

“The travel agency supposedly did not go through any kind of bidding. It’s a government project; [if] government gets involved, there has to be a bidding but there was no bidding,” said Valda.

“After that, he left us to foot the bill. We have to pay for so many things--the athletes, everything. He wouldn’t even pay for the entry fee of our own Filipino athletes."

The two officials said WAP was embarrassed on how the foreign delegates were treated.

“During the weigh-in we had four weighing scales [provided by the PSC]. None of the weighing scales worked. [It was embarrassing because] all the Asian heads were present. These people who are ‘big time’ in their countries,” shared Aguilar.

Even the hotel accommodations were overpriced, claimed Valda. He said that to cut on the expenses, the PSC even booked seven people including foreign delegates in just one room.

The incident, they said, prompted WAP to file a graft complaint against Angping before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Unpaid debts

Angping, however, has a different version of the events.

In a letter addressed to WAP president Abert Balde, Angping said the wrestling association still has to settle unpaid balances amounting to P4,370,785.32 used for the hosting of the 2009 Asian Juniors Wrestling Championships.

“Please be reminded that you have violated our prior verbal discussion and agreements, despite the trust and sincerity that the undersigned had accorded the new officers of WAP,” said Angping.

Angping said the expenses for the tournament actually amounted to P6,370,785.32 including accommodation, entry fees, video coverage, freight services for wrestling mats and the initial deposit for Image Travel, the event’s organizer.

The P2 million difference, according to the commission chair, was PSC's financial assistance to WAP to make the hosting possible.

“The undersigned was made to believe that the rest of the expenditures will be shouldered by WAP using the participation fees collected,” wrote Angping.