EJ Obiena demands apology from PATAFA

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipino superstar pole vaulter EJ Obiena will be filing a complaint against the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) after the sports organization claimed that he falsified the liquidation forms that were used to claim his cash assistance.

In a news report published by Rappler and the Philippine Daily Inquirer, PATAFA was ordering Obiena to return 85,000 euros (4.8 million pesos).

The amount was said to be the supposed payment of Obiena to his head coach Vitaly Petrov that PATAFA claimed he wasn’t able to give to his coach.

PATAFA’s statement also included that Petrov and pole vaulting great Sergey Bubka wrote to them about their unpaid salaries from Obiena.

However, in a recent press conference with Obiena and coach Petrov airing their side, the legendary head coach claimed that he never wrote a letter to PATAFA demanding added funds.

“I don’t understand what this federation is doing and what comes out of this. This is a shame,” said Petrov.

Obiena then voiced out his frustrations amid the ongoing situation with PATAFA, saying that if his training won’t continue because of this, he will consider retiring from the sport.

“It’s futile for me to continue with the current situation. I’m a 26-year-old in life. I can’t waste somebody’s time. I’m happy to walk away. I’m proud of where I am, I’m proud of what I brought to the country, I’m proud of what I have achieved,” said Obiena.

Obiena is now demanding a public apology from PATAFA and he claims that no due process was even made regarding the result.

“They’ve slandered my name. I represent the federation before anything else. I deserve an apology, retraction of that, and public apology for whatever is happening,” Obiena added.