Pole vaulter EJ Obiena resolves acrimonious dispute with the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association

The Philippines could win its first World Championships medal in athletics now that pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena has settled his dispute with the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA).

The issue concerned allegedly late payments to Obiena’s coach and involved upper levels of the country’s government. Charges of harassment were leveled against the athletics federation president while the federation accused the Olympic pole vaulter of embezzlement.

The agreement came after the fifth mediation session led by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

”It is with much joy that we announce that both parties have agreed to a settlement and the proceedings ended successfully,” the PSC said in a statement.

PATAFA also will endorse Obiena in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, in May and the outdoor World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July.

However, the agreement came too late for Obiena to compete at the recent World Indoor Championships in Belgrade. PATAFA withheld its endorsement of Obiena despite his qualification for the event and his two golds and a silver medal on the European indoor tour this season.

Obiena, 26, wrote in an emotional social media post, “If the country was ever put first, I should be headed to Belgrade now. But I am not. I will watch it on TV like millions of others. I will see other nations take the medal that the Philippines should be winning.

”I shed a tear now with a heavy heart, but not just for myself. I shed a tear for my country. We had a chance to show the world our greatness. And we lost it.”

After the event, Obiena added on Instagram that he was “improving week by week and feeling better.” His top indoor vault of 5.91 meters was above the bronze medalist’s height of 5.90 and is tied for fifth on the world list.

”I can’t stop thinking that I could have fought for that bronze or fought for that silver even,” he wrote. “The bottom line is, our nation lost a chance for glory for no legitimate reason.”

A total of 102 nations have won a medal at the outdoor World Championships, but the Philippines has yet to crack that list.

The dispute began in October with accusations that Obiena falsified liquidation documents and made late payments to his coach Vitaly Petrov. Obiena trains in Formia, Italy, with Petrov, a Ukrainian who coached the legendary Sergey Bubka.

Although Obiena said he had paid Petrov and Petrov later denied there was an issue, PATAFA, led by president Philip Juico, accused Obiena of misusing government funds.

Philippine Senators supported Obiena and said the accusations were harassment. Congressional hearings were held.

The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), following an investigation by its ethics committee, declared Juico “persona non grata,” on December 28, with the ethics committee saying he had made “malicious public accusations” against Obiena. The POC called for the election of a new president.

In early January, PATAFA struck back by expelling Obiena from the national team. The first four mediation attempts were unsuccessful.

On social media, Obiena wrote, “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.”

All parties agreed to make the discussions confidential.

”Humility really played a big part in this process,” said Butch Ramirez, chairman of the PSC. “The decision to enter into this process was their first step towards a successful resolution.”

The agreement came less than a week after the International Olympic Committee named Obiena as a recipient of an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship of $833 a month until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Obiena was reportedly the only athlete who was not endorsed by his federation.

This was not just a sports dispute. The Office of the Solicitor General and the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center were involved in the mediation proceedings.

After the final session, Juico, Obiena and Ramirez met in a private virtual room where Obiena “expressed his apologies to PATAFA, its board members, Mr. Juico and his teammates, and both have assured each other of forgiveness, to start anew and move on,” said the statement.

Obiena has said despite lucrative offers from other nations over the years, he believed that “loyalty matters.” “I love my country. I am proud to compete for the flag of the Philippines,” he told the Manila Standard. “I get chills every time I hear our anthem played and to watch that flag rise high.”

Obiena tied for third on the 2021 world list, with only Armand Duplantis of Sweden, the world record holder, and Christopher Nilsen of the United States going higher. Obiena was tied with Sam Kendricks of the United States and Tiur Morgunov, an Authorized Neutral Athlete from Russia.

After Obiena had a disappointing outing at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, tying for 11th with a vault of 5.75 meters, he rebounded by setting a national and area record of 5.93 meters in September 2021 at the International Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria. Obiena broke a record that had stood for 23 years.

The Daily Tribune said with Obiena and PATAFA “finally mending their broken fences, the Philippines is in the position to deploy its ‘Dream Team’ in the athletics competition of the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi this May.”

Obiena’s parents, Emerson Obiena and Jeanette Uy, were also track and field athletes and his father was his first coach. Emerson was the silver medalist at the 1995 Southeast Asian Games and bronze medalist at the 2005 Manila Games.

EJ took up the sport at age 6, surpassing his father’s personal best of 4.95 meters in 2014. He then joined forces with Petrov.

In 2019, Obiena broke the Asian Athletics Championship record with a vault of 5.71 meters to win the gold medal. He tied for 15th at the 2019 World Championships, clearing 5.60 meters, but will have much higher hopes come July in Eugene.