MANILA, Philippines – Two-time Olympian Donnie Geisler filed an official complaint against the Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA) at the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) on Wednesday, June 24. 

“Today I finally decided to take action and fight for my rights and to be vindicated with all the abuses and harassments committed not only against me, but also my students,” said Geisler in a statement to the media. 

“It’s high time that I should stand my ground and protect my rights against abusive practices. If I will not do it no one else will.” 

In a separate interview with Rappler, the former national taekwondo jin claimed that the PTA has been setting up barriers – mostly monopolies – that make it difficult for him to operate his school, the Donnie Geisler Taekwondo Training Center. 

“In 2014, I started to do my business in taekwondo as a retired taekwondo practitioner. That’s the direction that I have to go. They have been denying me of that for many years. Many times I was outcasted from doing that,” Geisler told Rappler.

“There are many instructors oppressed in the sport. It’s been going on for years. If I’m going to do this, I’m going up against a big wall. I need to do this for change. There is too much control from the association.” 

The PCC is an independent organization aimed to promote fair market competition to help achieve a vibrant and inclusive economy, and advance consumer welfare. It handles anti-competitive issues and abuses. 

The organization is still in the process of evaluating the documents Geisler filed before publicly releasing them. 

Geisler’s actions come after national taekwondo jins Samuel Morrison and Arven Alcantara had to be pardoned by PTA chief executive officer Sung Chon Hong for agreeing to guest in the Olympian’s online training session. 

Philippine taekwondo star Pauline Lopez, a 2019 SEA Games gold medalist, was also invited but was pulled out by the PTA. 

According to Geisler, he was forced to cancel the event even though he formally asked permission from the national federation. 

“Is there any protocol? I don’t remember any. They can freely guest. What happened was that I had to ask permission. I asked the association, the coaches, and they just canceled it and I felt bad. Tinanggal ako sa mga messenger groups sa mga instructors (They removed me from the messenger groups of the instructors),” revealed Geisler, who saw action in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics. – Rappler.com