Senator Pia Cayetano on Tuesday slammed the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association’s (PATAFA) decision to expel top pole vaulter EJ Obiena from the national pool, saying its head Philip Juico was ruining not only the chances of the young Filipino from achieving his Olympic dream, but also that of the Philippines as a nation.
“I am beyond disgusted with the latest actions and statements of PATAFA's Philip Juico who is single-handedly killing the spirit of Filipino athletes,” Cayetano said in a statement hours after learning PATAFA’s decision.
“Despite the underhanded treatment EJ received from PATAFA, even after rendering a full accounting of his training funds and his coach’s confirmation acknowledging receipt of his full payment, it must be noted that EJ himself has said that he was willing to join the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) mediation process after the POC (Philippine Olympic Committee) has concluded its own investigation,” she pointed out.
“What should have been a feel good movie with EJ ending the year as the top Asian pole vaulter and ranked No. 3 in the world, has turned into a horror movie where a vindictive Juico is attacking and attacking EJ,” the senator lamented.
At this point, Cayetano said she expects the PSC to step up and put an end to the fiasco.
“I expect PSC to step up and put an end to all this now. During the Senate's budget deliberations last December, PSC Chair William Ramirez committed to step in and act decisively,” she pointed out.
“The PSC even warned in a subsequent statement that it would be constrained to sanction PATAFA should the mediation process fail,” Cayetano recalled.
On Tuesday, the PATAFA unveiled the results of its investigation on Obiena’s alleged non-payment of coaching fees to his coach, Ukrainian Vitaly Petrov, as well as his falsification of liquidation documents.
Both Obiena and his coach, Petrov, denied the accusations, but the PATAFA Investigative Committee recommended that Obiena be dropped from the national training pool after their internal investigation yielded findings that Obiena allegedly misused his training funds.
According to Juico, the investigation showed that Obiena “misappropriated the amount of 61,026.80 euros... which were released to him by the PATAFA and the Philippine Sports Commission as payment for the coaching fee of Mr. Petrov.”
The POC had earlier declared Juico a persona non grata in light with his feud with Obiena. It also made a commitment to support Obiena, a world-class athlete, in his goal to compete in international competitions should his own National Sports Association (NSA) decides to drop him.