Patafa leaves door open—very slightly—for Obiena’s SEA Games title defense

The opening is slim, but there’s a chance EJ Obiena (photo above) can compete in the SEA Games. —AFP

The country’s athletics federation is leaving the door open for Ernest John Obiena to defend his Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) pole vault crown.

The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) had already said it help rush an ongoing mediation, but added on Wednesday that Obiena will have to do his part to earn his berth in the national team that will compete in the SEA Games in May in Hanoi, Vietnam.

“There’s still a chance for him to compete in the SEA Games because the deadline [for the submission of the final roster] is still on Saturday,’’ said Patafa national training director Renato Unso.

On Tuesday, the Patafa left Obiena off its SEA Games delegation, an act that Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino lamented would result in the loss of a “sure gold” in Hanoi, where the country will try to defend its overall crown.

Obiena had earlier written the Patafa and asked that he be endorsed for several international competitions, including the indoor world championships in Belgrade, Serbia—a tournament he will miss because he failed to meet the cutoff date for securing the blessing of his national federation.

But the Patafa wrote back and said it would not act on endorsement requests until after a mediation process initiated by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) resolved the rift between the world No. 5 and the national federation.

Working against the clock

The Patafa, however, also said it “recognizes the urgency” of Obiena’s request and will move to “fully cooperate with the PSC … with the intent of expediting the process” of mediation.

But sources have told the Inquirer that the negotiations are still far from reaching a resolution.

On Wednesday, an Inquirer source said Obiena’s fate on defending his SEA Games title depends on his willingness to comply with the conditions set by the Patafa during the mediation—given the limited time frame, Obiena will be working against the clock.

The same source declined to divulge the conditions of the Patafa pending the outcome of the mediation. This was validated by another source privy to the ongoing arbitration, who also said that the details and conditions could not be relayed because of confidentiality rules governing the process.

Obiena and Patafa president Philip Ella Juico could not be reached for comment at press time.

Earlier, Juico had told the Inquirer that Patafa had not completely locked Obiena out of the SEA Games, saying the athlete must signify his intention to join the national team and submit proof he met his qualifying standards.

It is the same gateway available to all athletes based abroad, like twins Kayla and Kyla Richardson, whose father has also requested accreditation to the SEA Games.

“I am happy to report to you that Kyla ran 11.64 (seconds) a new personal best yesterday in her 3rd 100m of the year yesterday and believes she can contend for the 100m Gold in May. I will submit her official results to you,” Jeff Richardson wrote the Patafa in his letter requesting accreditation.

Other competitions

Unso said Obiena’s compliance with Patafa would also clear a path for him to compete in the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September.

At the center of mediation proceedings is the Patafa accusation that Obiena misused funds meant for the salary of his coach, Vitaly Petrov, which the athlete, the federation alleged, covered up by sending fraudulent liquidation reports.

Obiena has copped to falling behind in payments to Petrov, saying he had to balance the administration of his finances with his training schedule.

The Commission on Audit (COA) is already scrutinizing Obiena’s documents, matching dates with payment entries. Pressed on why the COA is taking long to release the results of its audit, the source did not give an answer.