Pole vaulter EJ Obiena’s mother on Monday told the Senate Sports Committee, chaired by Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, that she lent money to the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) to help finance her son’s allowance after learning of the Olympian’s living conditions during his training abroad.

Jeanette Obiena, during the Senate’s hearing into the rift between Obiena and Patafa, said she had to shoulder her son’s training allowance after learning that the national sports association (NSA) handling EJ had no funds at that time.

According to Jeannette, she was asked by a Patafa staff if she could shoulder EJ’s training allowance since the funds are already being processed at the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

“Nag abono po ako ng P600,000 para sa anak ko dahil po nung panahon na nag-follow up po ako sa Patafa tungkol sa training allowance ni EJ. Pero nung panahon na yun nasabi po sa akin na wala pa pong pondo ang Patafa (I shouldered P600,000 for my child because at that time I followed up regarding EJ’s training allowance with Patafa. But during that time, I was told Patafa had no funds),” Jeanette told senators during the hearing.

“So nangyari po, nag -iwan ako ng blank check para mo maalala na nag-advance po ako para kay EJ, at pinakisuyo ko po iyon na ipa-deposit sa kanila (So what happened is that I left a bnalk check so they can remember that I made advances for EJ and I asked the staff to make the deposit),” she narrated.

“Nasabi po kasi ni EJ na wala po siyang pambayad at siya po ay nakikitira lang kay Thiago Braz, yun pong Olympic champion ng Olympics 2016 (EJ told me he didn’t have any money and he was living with Thiago Braz, the Olympic champion who won in the 2016 Olympics),” she said.

As a mother, Jeanette said she cannot help but feel worried and anxious about her son’s living condition.

Doing household chores

According to Obiena’s mother, the athlete would do household chores to make up for living there, cleaning the yard, cutting grass, cleaning the house and even washing dishes so it wouldn’t be embarrassing to Braz.

“So ako po gumawa po ako ng paraan, nanghiram po ng pera at the same time kung ano po yung naipon naming mag-asawa, ipinadala po namin sakanya para maitawid po siya (So I came up with a plan, I borrowed money and at the same time, pooled whatever savings me and my husband had, and sent it to him so he can survive),” she said.

“Dahil bilang magulang po, hindi ko po matanggap na ang anak ko nasa ibang bansa nagiisa at hindi mo po malaman kung may titirahan at may kakainin (Because as a parent, I can’t accept the fact that my son would be alone in another country, not knowing if he has a place to stay or food to eat),” she added.

We raised him right

But what was hurtful to the family was the accusation that they failed as parents to raise Obiena, who won gold in the men’s pole vault event at the 2019 Sumemr Universiade in Naples, Italy, especially on social media. Obiena is currently training in Italy.

“Sa social media, ang maraming nag co comment, meron pa nga pong nag comment na masasakit. At bilang magulang po napakasakit sa amin na ang anak namin pinalaki namin ng hindi tama kaya daw ganito ang nangyari sa kanya? (There were many comments on social media. One comment was hurtful. As a parent it was painful to be accused of not raising our son right and that is why these things are happening to him),” Jeannette said.

“Nung una pumutok ito sa social media, kabang-kaba po ako kasi nag iisa si EJ dun, lalo na sa gabi. Kasi siya lang po mag-isa sa apartment niya. Hindi ko po maisip kung ano yung iniisip ni EJ dahil baka po may gawin siya. Siya lang po mag-isa (When this blew up on social media, I was scared because EJ was alone there especially at night. He’s alone in the apartment. I don’t know what EJ is thinking and what he could do. Because he is all alone),” she told the panel.

Jeanette said she is worried that her son’s current rift with the Patafa leadership could also affect EJ’s education and his overall well-being as an athlete.

She said her husband is also currently breaking down and worrying about their son’s future.

“Lagi po niya (husband) naiisip kung ano na ang magiging kinabukasan ng anak ko sa pagkasira ng pangalan niya sa labas. Hindi lang po local, international pa po. Hindi pa po tapos si EJ sa pag aaral. Isang taon at kalahati pa po ang kailangan niya para matapos ang degree niya (My husband is constantly worrying about our son’s future especially after his name was disgraced outside. Not only locally, but also internationally. EJ has yet to finish his studies. He still has one and a half year to finish his degree),” Mrs. Obiena said.

“Isinakripisyo po niya yan para po makapasok at matupad po ang kanyang pangarap na makapag bigay ng honor para sa ating bansa (He sacrificed so much just so he can enter the games and fulfill his dreams to bring honor to our country),” she pointed out.

In November last year, Patafa ordered Obiena to return over P4.8-million to the national sporting association over the alleged falsification of his liquidation reports.

Patafa had accused Obiena of falsifying his liquidation reports and failing to pay his coach Vitaly Petrov. Obiena, and Petrov himself, disputed Patafa’s accusations.

Obiena still admitted he did pay Petrov late for thet services he rendered from early 2018 onward but this has been resolved and paid.