Angping padlocks wushu's Rizal office

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Sports Commission chairman Harry Angping yesterday said the Wushu Federation of the Philippines office inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex should remain padlocked as long as the leadership dispute within the WFP remains unresolved.

“That’s the reason it was padlocked this morning – because of the question on leadership in their association,” said Angping from Daguan City where he was guest of the ongoing National Open Track and Field Championships.

Julian Camacho, whose leadership at the WFP is being challenged by another group that recently held an election and named Tai Lian as its president, decried the manner by which the office was padlocked.

“It was closed without us being informed and noticed,” he said during the PSA Forum at Shakey’s UN Avenue as he showed scribes photographs of the closing of the office yesterday morning.

He labeled the PSC move as “harassment” and said Angping should instead focus on his main job of funding the training of the national athletes and stay away from “politics.”

Angping, however, stressed that it was only the office that was padlocked, and not the training area in the WFP headquarters that was built more than five years ago following a memorandum of agreement between the PSC and the WFP.

Angping said while the wushu group helped fund the construction of the four-storey building, the PSC continued to enjoy preferential right over the WFP’s use of the building.

“I will never jeopardize the training of the wushu athletes. The athletes will continue to train there. It was only the office that was padlocked in the same manner the PSC office padlocked the BAP (Basketball Association of the Philippines) office years go due to a leadership dispute,” Angping explained. – Abac Cordero