Wada issues need to be taken seriously—PSC

PSC chairman Dickie Bachmann during the SEA Games send-off ceremony. MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER

The antidoping issue that the Philippines hurdled recently has become an eye-opener which calls for a sincere involvement of all the national athletes.

“Some of the athletes may feel that it’s not important, but we have to actually educate them again,’’ said Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chair Richard Bachmann on Tuesday during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

The country was in peril of not seeing the national flag flutter in the Paris Olympics later this year after the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) threatened the Philippines with suspension for noncompliance of the latter’s code.

READ: Threatened with ban, PSC vows to comply with Wada code

“The key here is actually communicating with all NSAs (National Sports Associations) and taking the Wada issues seriously,’’ said Bachmann.

There were four issues that Wada told the PSC to comply with—the submission of the NSAs annual plans, registered testing pool of athletes from the NSAs, resolving the open case of a Filipino boxer who yielded a positive result in 2016 and the country’s membership in blood testing centers accredited by Wada.

The Philippine National Anti-Doping Organization (Phi-Nado) reiterated at the weekly forum held at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex that the compliance controversy is finally settled and cleared.

READ: PH faces flag ban in Paris Oympics with Wada warning

“The threat that came with the Wada noncompliance meant that starting last Feb. 22, we would not have been allowed to host international sporting events and that if a Filipino wins in international competitions, the Philippine flag cannot fly,’’ said Phi-Nado chief Alex Pineda.

“Of course, it affects our national pride,’’ he added.

According to Pineda, satisfying the requirements is simply an initial undertaking and more actions are necessary.