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Philippines, 20 May 2025 |
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SENATE DEMANDS RECALL OF PHILIPPINE AMBASSADOR TO ARGENTINA OVER ASSAULT ON BOXER CASIMERO By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Wed, 15 Feb 2012  Philippine Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. The Philippine Senate is not taking the assault on newly crowned IBF junior flyweight interim champion Johnriel Casimero and his team in Mar del Plata, Argentina, lightly and has directed the Department of Foreign Affairs to recall the Philippine ambassador to Argentina, Rey Carandang, immediately. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile issued the order during Wednesday's session over what he termed "this sordid and unfortunate incident, where our flag was actually dishonored." Enrile also asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to summon the Argentine ambassador to the Philippines "to explain why they have the temerity to assault the flag, the honor, the dignity of this country represented by our boxer." Senate president Enrile's motion was adopted by the Upper House as a resolution. The move followed a privilege speech by Senate majority leader Vicente Sotto III in which he displayed footage shown on television in which 22 year old Casimero, his promoter Sammy Gello-ani and trainer Christopher "Pingping" Tepora were attacked by an unruly crowd believed to be members of a truckers union of which former champion Luis Lazarte was a member. Casimero dropped Lazarte who was penalized for dirty tactics in a foul-infested bout in which he bit Casimero twice on the shoulder, twice in round nine and then again in round ten when the referee stepped in and called a halt as Casimero nailed Lazarte against the ropes with a flurry of punches. Senator Sotto said "We must condemn in the strongest possible terms this attack on a Filipino sports hero and the entire Philippine delegation. Filipino boxers endure long hours of tedious physical training and they risk their lives in every fight they make. They are not just competing for themselves; they are competing for the country's honor and pride. An insult to the Filipino contingent is an insult to our country." In issuing the order Enrile referred to the power of the Senate to ratify international treaties and the assignment of ambassadors. Senator Loren Legarda, chairman of the Foreign Relations committee made it clear that the recall of the Philippine ambassador to Buenos Aires did not mean we were severing ties with Argentina. ABS-CBN News quoted Legarda as saying "We are recalling the Philippine ambassador to Argentina so that they may explain to the Senate. We want to know whether they have provided the adequate security and support before and after the incident." Legarda said the DFA will immediately be asked to report to the Senate circumstances behind the incident. Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said "we were concerned with what happened. However with the passage of this resolution, we would defer to the action to be taken by the DFA in light of the resolution that was passed by our senators.? The post-fight riot in which Casimero and his team were attacked by Lazarte supporters, hit with chairs and water bottles was condemned by the World Boxing Council headed by its president Don Jose Sulaiman. The WBC said it ?condemns this cowardly attack that many fans made against the foreign fighter (Casimero) and his team? pointing out that ?they were only 4 unprotected people who received brutal and unacceptable attacks from scores of people.? Sulaiman said ?The WBC rejects what happened and demands immediate action by the local authorities to punish those criminals that have stained boxing and the reputation of such an exemplary and honorable country like Argentina.? Meantime, the president of the Argentine Boxing Commission, Osvaldo Bisbal showed no remorse even as he claimed "there is no one to punish" for the ugly post-fight riot that followed Johnriel Casimero's rousing 10th round TKO victory over former champion Luis Lazarte. Bisbal made his comments in an interview with Argentine daily El Clarin. Despite the ugly scenes shown on television and replayed on YouTube where thugs were seen attacking Casimero and the three others members of the team, Bisbal claimed that "everything was fine" at the venue and there will be no sanctions taken against Lazarte (who bit his opponent on numerous occasions and even threatened the referee) or for the Promoter Osvaldo Rivero. When asked about possible sanctions by the IBF the head of the Argentine Boxing Commission in an arrogant response answered "we laugh at the sanctions of the International sanctioning bodies they have no type of authority to do so." Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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