THE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) on Thursday slammed the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) for its decision not to endorse Olympian pole-vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena in four international meets including the World Indoor Championships set on March 18 to 20 in Belgrade, Serbia.

The World No. 5 and Asian record-holder wrote PATAFA a request on Feb. 24 for an endorsement that would allow him to compete in Belgrade, which was denied in a letter from national athletics training director Renato Unso last Monday after citing the former’s refusal to agree to the Philippine Sports Commission-initiated mediation in the past.

Mr. Obiena was also expelled from the national team, which would automatically deny him from receiving endorsements from PATAFA for him to be allowed to see action in the Hanoi Southeast Asian Games slated for May 12 to 23 and the Hangzhou Asian Games set on Sept. 12 to 25.

He is also expected not to get the PATAFA’s nod in the World Championships scheduled July 15 to 24 in Eugene, Oregon.

“Again, how many more gold medals or what more achievements does EJ need to get Patafa’s endorsement?” said POC President Abraham Tolentino. “He’s the best in Asia and his numbers have been rising consistently, but still he’s bound to be denied more medals for the country.”

The impasse had gotten worse after PATAFA President Philip Ella Juico lodged a complaint against Mr. Obiena and the POC at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Feb. 11.

The rift was rooted from PATAFA’s accusation that Mr. Obiena allegedly fabricated liquidations concerning salaries of Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov, which the Southeast Asian Games gold medalist repeatedly denied.

Mr. Obiena posted a season-best 5.81 meters, which he registered twice in two separate meets — Orlen Cup and Orlen Copernicus Cup — in Poland last month, that earned him a spot to the Belgrade and Eugene meets.

Mr. Obiena was also hoping to take a shot at his personal best 5.93m he registered in the Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria last year.

But because of the conflict, he would have to pass up on these rare chances.

MR. JUICO’S SIDE
Mr. Juico, for his part, denied Mr. Obiena’s claim that PATAFA refused to give the latter endorsement to the Belgrade event.

“Who said it was denied? They don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s PATAFA’s call,” said Mr. Juico.

Mr. Juico also stressed the CAS case has nothing to do with liquidation issue Mr. Obiena has been embroiled in.

“The case has nothing to do with the integrity issues Mr. Obiena faces. POC fails to realize these are two separate issues. Why not bring POC action to CAS? The POC shouldn’t have gotten involved in a clearly internal matter and therefore legally and morally wrong,” said Mr. Juico.

“I told the public that I’ll fight the POC action on Jan. 26, the day they railroaded the proceedings. Last time I checked, we still are a free country and still had rights under our constitution.

“It’s an appeal, not a complaint,” he added. — Joey Villar

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