Boxing execs sue former GAB head

CEBU, Philippines —  A group of Cebuano boxing officials has filed a complaint against former Games Amusement Board (GAB) chairman Juan Ramon Guanzon for allegedly manufacturing documents to make it appear that a woman is a boxer.

Edward Ligas, president of the Professional Boxing Officials of Cebu (PBOC), headed the filing of the complaint against Guanzon before the Office of the Ombudsman for the Visayas.

The PBOC sued Guanzon for grave misconduct, abuse of authority, qualified trafficking,

and for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

“He manufactured fake documents to make it appear nga si Janiper Ortiz is a boxer,” Ligas said.

Guanzon allegedly granted Ortiz the boxing license in September 2013 so that Ortiz could attend a supposed boxing event in Malvern, Victoria, Australia.

As it turned out, Guanzon allegedly issued the license so that Ortiz could travel to Australia to be reunited with her Australian boyfriend, a boxing promoter and block-time boxing TV host.

“The documentary evidence will prove that he committed qualified human trafficking,” Ligas said.

Human trafficking is defined as the act or practice of transporting people illegally from one country to another. Ligas said they will ask Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, to intervene in the human trafficking component of the case.

Ligas said they will ask the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) through Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano to have Guanzon’s passports cancelled. They will also ask the Australian Embassy to forbid Guanzon to travel to the country.

“Ang worse pa gyud, si Chairman Guanzon cheated both the Philippine government and the Australian government,” Ligas said.

Guanzon is a boxing consultant for GAB and is the Secretary General of the Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF).

“If I were him (Guanzon), if he values his credibility, he should resign as a secretary general in OPBF,” Ligas said.

The current GAB chairman, Abraham Kahlil Mitra, reportedly knows of the complaint against Guanzon.

The Ombudsman will give Guanzon a chance to answer the complaint formally. (FREEMAN)