SENATOR Pia Cayetano on Wednesday led the filing of a motion to cite in contempt the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) board for disobeying the Senate Committee on Sports’ order for PATAFA’s to amicably settle its differences with world-ranked pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena through mediation procedures facilitated by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
The contempt charges stemmed from the PATAFA filing a case against Obiena and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) with the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), a body created by the International Olympic Committee to settle issues related to sports through arbitration.
PATAFA filed the case with the CAS four days after it agreed to undergo mediation—under the PSC’s initiative—during the Sports Committee hearing on February 7. The hearing lasted four hours with PATAFA president Philip Ella Juico and Chairman Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Obiena agreeing to submit themselves to mediation.
“PATAFA filed a case before the CAS in Switzerland. This is an act of bad faith, as PATAFA practically and effectively closed any possibility of amicable settlement with Obiena,” Cayetano said.
“PATAFA has clearly escalated the conflict by giving Obiena another problem that will distract him from his training and consume his time, efforts and resources,” she added. “This is not the way you treat a national athlete, and an Olympian at that.”
Obiena is ranked No. 5 in the world and is the Asian record holder in men’s pole vault. He’s also the reigning Southeast Asian Games champion and record holder and had he been endorsed by PATAFA to the world indoor championships in Belgrade that start on Friday (March 18), he could have been the first homegrown Filipino to compete in the prestigious event.
In compliance with the requirements of Section 18 of the Senate Rules, Cayetano’s motion was co-signed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senators Francis “Tol” Tolentino and Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson.
Cited in contempt were Juico and PATAFA board members Rommel Sytin, Agapito Capistrano, Melinda Diaz-Salcedo, Noel Silva, Elmer Ngo, Benjamin Espiritu, Felix Tiukinhoy Jr., Josemarie Diaz, Rafaelito Villavicencio, Joseph Anton Bengzon, Jaime Villegas, Datu Yusoph Mama, Guillermo Torres Jr., Roberto Uy and Go Teng Kok.
Being a member of the House of Representatives, Rodruguez wasn’t on the charge sheet.
In the February 7 hearing, Cayetano said Obiena presented the Sports Committee, chaired by Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, with documents “proving that he had fully transmitted payments for the coaching fees of Coach Vitaly Petrov, who confirmed receiving the same.”
“Obiena also showed an email from the PSC auditing team confirming that he has completed and submitted all the required liquidation reports,” she said.
Obiena, Cayetano said, did admit to delays in sending the payments, which he attributed to the difficulties he encountered in handling the funds, such as the conversion of Philippine pesos to Euros, as well as the late transfer of his training funds.
“Despite the clear presentation made by Obiena, PATAFA still refused to acknowledge that he had fully paid his coach, and even raised doubts on the authenticity of his liquidation reports,” the lady senator said.
She added: “Obiena had even asked for assistance in handling the funds. However, this request was not only denied, but was also used by PATAFA to raise issues and hurl accusations against him.”
The Senate Committee on Sports, Cayetano stressed, ordered the PATAFA and Obiena to go into mediation with the assistance of PSC, with the end in view of settling the issue so Obiena could focus on his training and upcoming competitions.
“That is why I filed the motion to cite PATAFA’s board members in contempt. They could have also been the ones who authorized their President, Mr. Philip Ella Juico, to persecute Obiena in every possible way and to disobey the orders of the Senate Committee on Sports,” she said.
“But as due process will be observed, PATAFA’s Board Members will be given the opportunity to explain their actions,” she added.
Cayetano also said that the PATAFA “continues to rear its ugly head” through its continuous denial of Obiena’s requests to represent the country in international competitions.
“This has undermined the development of Philippine sports,” she said. “With this condemnable act, PATAFA has lost all moral authority to lead the track and field sports program of the country.”
Obiena requested the PATAFA to endorse his participation in the Belgrade world indoor championships, 31st SEA Games in Hanoi in May, world championships in Eugene (Oregon) in July and the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou (China) in September. The PATAFA denied the request.
Mediation efforts by the PSC also started last March 7 with BusinessMirror reporting that the initial talks ended in a stalemate.