Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 4) — An investigative committee formed by the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) has recommended the expulsion of Olympic pole vaulter EJ Obiena from the national team pool.
PATAFA probe body head Felix Tiukinhoy Jr. said aside from the removal of Obiena’s national athlete status, the committee also recommended the filing of a criminal complaint for estafa against the 26-year-old athlete over the federation’s fund of €6,000 (about ₱360,000), the amount allotted for the fees of Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov from May 2018 to August 2018.
“Obiena… knew the consequences of what he was doing as he repeatedly produced those spurious documents. He now has to face the consequences,” PATAFA president Philip Juico said at his closing remarks at an online press conference on Facebook Live Tuesday.
Obiena currently ranks 6th in world and holds the Asian pole vault record. In the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he was the only Asian to reach the final round, where he finished at 11th place.
The PATAFA committee also intends to file a complaint against Petrov before the World Athletics for allegedly violating the Integrity Code of Conduct. His coaching services will also be terminated immediately, according to the PATAFA body.
The federation has also declared Obiena’s longtime adviser James Michael Lafferty as persona non grata.
The report alleged too that Obiena’s mother Jeanette, a former PATAFA auditor, misappropriated the amount of ₱624,116.76 which she claimed from the PSC “under the pretext that it is a reimbursement of the coaching fee paid to Mr. Petrov for the months of January 2019 to March 2019.”
A copy of the report by the PATAFA investigative committee will be sent to both the Philippine Sports Commission and the Commission on Audit.
