EJ Obiena (left) will still vault for the Philippines, the Philippine Olympic Committee says. AFP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Elma Muros-Posadas, one of the most successful track stars of the Philippines, advised Olympian pole vaulter to make amends with the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association.
The 15-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist said Obiena should settle the alleged falsified liquidation reports regarding payments made to pole vaulting coach Vitaly Petrov.
In an interview with ANC’s Headstart, Muros-Posadas said Obiena should humble himself and follow the rules of Patafa.
“Dapat magpakumbaba ka, sumunod ka sa patakaran ng Patafa. Kung ano ang rules and regulations may responsibilidad kami bilang isang atleta at sa bayan na sinusuklian namin ang people’s money na kailangan sa pamamagitan ng aming talento,” said Muros-Posadas.
“Dahil napakapalad niya bilang isang atleta. Napakasuwerte niya. Sa dami-dami ng mga atletang world-class hindi nagkakaganito.”
(You should be humble and follow the rules of Patafa. Whatever rules and regulations are, as athletes we have the responsibility to the nation to pay back people’s money through our talents. He’s very lucky as an athlete. Very lucky. There are many world class athletes who [don’t have issues] like this.)
BACK IN THE DAY
Elma Muros-Posadas in action during the 2001 Southeast Asian Games. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Muros, who competed in 11 SEA Games from 1981 to 2001, said the money they received during her career was a mere fraction of what Obiena has received.
The athlete nicknamed “Long Jump Queen” said she would write her travel fare from Teacher’s Camp to University of Baguio and that she even included her dining expenses down to the last centavo.
“Noong panahon namin hindi ganito kalaki ang pera. From Teacher’s Camp to University of Baguio ang pamasahe namin back and forth sinusulat namin. ‘Yung notebook sinusulat namin ‘yan pinipirmahan namin ‘yan,” said Muros.
“’Yung P7 ‘pag umaga tapos balikan pa kami magla-lunch kami or dinner kasi may instruction namin na i-liquidate namin ‘yan, kahit 50 centavos ‘yan, talagang ili-liquidate ko ‘yun kasi kailangan na maipaliwanang namin saan napunta.”
(During my time, we didn’t have that much money. From Teacher’s Camp to University of Baguio, we write down all our travel expenses. We jot down everything in our notebook and we sign it. We spend P7 in the mornings, then we have to go back for lunch or dinner because we have instructions to liquidate [our expenses], even as small as P50 centavos, I will liquidate that to explain where the money went.)
Patafa, back in November 2021, ordered Obiena to return 85,000 euros for alleged falsified liquidation reports.
It has then ballooned to a greater predicament with the Philippine Olympic Committee declaring Patafa president Philip Ella Juico persona non grata and Obiena getting dropped from the national team.
Jojo Posadas, the husband of Muros-Posadas, said that it was Obiena’s responsibility to pay Petrov.
The former national track and field coach also claimed that Obiena, who holds the Asian pole vaulting record at 5.93 meters, has received a total of P40 million in financial support.
“Binigyan ka ng suporta, kailangan tuparin mo ang obligasyon mo bilang atleta,” said Posadas. “The only thing I can say na aminin ni EJ ang pagkukulang para maayos… aminin mo ang pagkukulang mo and pagkakamali mo.”
(When you’re given support, you have to fulfill your obligations as an athlete. That only thing I can is EJ should admit his shortcomings to fix this…admit your shortcomings and mistakes.)