Oh, your boys aren't reporting for duty, sir

MANILA, Philippines - Asian Games gold medalist Rey Saludar and two other national boxing mainstays have already missed a one-and-a-half month’s worth of training due to their commitment with the Philippine Army.

ABAP executive director Ed Picson said flyweight ace Saludar and Guangzhou veterans lightwelter Delfin Boholst and welter Wilfredo Lopez have not been able to fully join the team’s workouts since January as they have yet to get their Detailed Service (DS) from PA’s General Headquarters.

The DS allows enlisted personnel among Phl team members to concentrate on their national squad training instead of reporting daily and serving their duties at the headquarters of their mother units.

“We’re doing everything to facilitate the release of their papers from Philippine Army so that they can resume their training (with the national team). These are three of our brightest prospects for the Olympic qualifiers this September,” Picson told The STAR yesterday.

Because they are occupied with their Army duties, Private First Class-ranked Saludar, Boholst, and Lopez can only join the team’s light morning warmups for some 30 minutes then head straight to Aguinaldo. They will get back at the PSC-ABAP gym around 6 p.m. and can no longer take part in the team’s afternoon workouts.

“They really have some catching up to do in training, being unable to join the partner plays, bags and sparring sessions. We hope they could be allowed to resume their training,” Picson said.

According to Picson, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has already requested the military branches for the DS of all concerned athletes but they are still waiting for the papers that will release the nationals from their AFP duties.

The ABAP exec added that three other members of the national boxing team – lightweight Orlando Tacuyan, featherweight Junel Cantancio, and Albert Pavila – have been stuck to their duties with Philippine Air Force for a longer time.

“They’ve not been training for almost two years now,” Picson said. “Two years ago, they were three of our brightest hopes but they’ve been sidelined since 2009. We’re hoping they can rejoin the team, sayang naman kasi.”