Philippine pole vault star Obiena prepared to fight expulsion by National Sports Association

In a rift that has quickly escalated involving multiple parties, Philippines Olympic pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena vows to fight his dismissal from representing his national team at future competitions.

The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) and its president Philip Ella Juico announced the sanctions against Obiena on January 4, following an investigation of accusations he falsified liquidation documents and late payments to his coach, Vitaly Petrov.

Adding to the complexity and messiness of the situation, the Philippine National Olympic Committee (POC) declared Juico persona non grata on December 28. The POC’s declaration comes following its ethics committee recommending to declare Juico as an unacceptable person in his role for allegedly harassing Obiena. The NOC has called for the reelection of a new president.

Obiena, 25, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian and the current Asian pole vault record holder, issued a statement in his defense on Thursday.

“Politics is not going to win, it’s gonna be what’s right and what’s true. I’m working on that. I’m still fighting the good fight,” Obiena wrote on social media.

Obiena’s dismissal from representing the Philippines is one of six recommendations from the PATAFA investigative committee, which also includes filing a criminal complaint of estafa of more than 6,000 Euros (P360,000), the amount allotted for the coaching fees due Petrov, as the two collaborated in Formio, Italy, in preparation for the Tokyo Games, from May 2018 to August 2018.

Juico informed that PATAFA accepted the recommendation of the board to remove Obiena.

“The report brought so much sadness and feelings of betrayal, but we have to face the challenge because we should account for all the funds, government and private, given we have a responsibility over showing of all moral, ethical considerations,” said PATAFA president Juico at Tuesday’s press conference.

PATAFA also plans to file a complaint against Petrov before World Athletics for violation of the Integrity Code of Conduct asking that he be terminated as a national team coach.

Obiena, who has quickly ascended to the sixth-ranked pole vaulter in the world, continues to defend himself with the support of his Ukrainian coach Petrov, who formerly coached Olympic champions Sergey Bubka and Yelena Isinbayeva.

The Filipino athlete contends he has already paid Petrov, in full, after three payments. Not paying his European coach on time is not a crime, Obiena said. Petrov supported Obiena, issuing an official statement that he received the entire amount owed to him.

Regarding Juico being declared unfit to carry out his duties on December 28, Philippines NOC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said if a national sports association president is “not in one with the aim and purpose of the POC to protect and taking care of the welfare of the athlete, then he or she does not deserve the recognition of POC.”

“The complaint of Obiena is not an intra NSA dispute, but it’s all about the conduct of Mr. Juico as president of the PATAFA on the way he treated an athlete,” the POC said. “He [Juico] should actually be thankful that he was given the opportunity to clear his side but he opted not to and instead hid on jurisdictional issues.”

“As far as the POC is concerned, the Ethics Committee acted within its inherent power which is to determine if the conduct of a member of POC, specifically the president of the PATAFA, is ethical, professional, and acceptable to the organization which he belongs to,” he stated.

Philippines Olympic boxing bronze medalist Eumir Marcial also stepped forward to support his countryman.

“The decision of the PATAFA committee to remove E.J. from the national pool, I feel, was some sort of an invalidation of the efforts and sacrifices that E.J. has made to bring honor to our country, something that every athlete can strongly relate to,” Marcial wrote on his Facebook page.

Whether PATAFA’s removal of Obiena will be upheld lies in the hands of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), which provided funding, along with PATAFA, for Obiena. Next steps will prove crucial as the Philippines will be competing in both the Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Games later this year. “The ball is now with the PSC, will the PSC allow E.J. to be stricken off from the national team? Will the government allow a world-class athlete to be out of the national team?” Tolentino questioned.

Obiena’s breakout season came in 2019 when he strung together a trifecta of victories at the Asian Championships, Southeast Asian Games and finally the Naples 2019 Summer Universiade, in Italy, as he soared to a new Philippines national record of 5.76m at the FISU flagship event.

The rising talent qualified for the men’s Olympic pole vault final in Tokyo, but finished a disappointing 11th. Obiena used his Olympic frustration as motivation, launching himself over 5.93m at the Golden Roof Challenge in downtown Innsbruck, in September. His winning jump broke the more-than-two-decades old Asian pole vault record.

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