PATAFA creates special committee to investigate EJ Obiena’s funding issue

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) confirmed that they will be forming a special committee that will investigate EJ Obiena’s funding issues.

Despite Obiena’s recently concluded virtual press conference, the PATAFA group is still insisting that Obiena wasn’t able to pay head coach Vitaly Petrov from 2018-2021 unless concrete proof from the pole vaulter will be shown.

“The committee is presently conducting a thorough and an in-depth investigation covering the issues at hand and will release as soon as practicable its findings and recommendations,” PATAFA wrote in their statement.

PATAFA also stated that President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Sergey Bubka wrote to them and explained that Petrov wasn’t able to receive any payment from Obiena.

Since Obiena kicked off training last 2018, PATAFA was directly sending him the money intended for his coach because there were no contracts agreed between the sports organizing body and Petrov’s camp.

“Based on the records of PATAFA, the coach’s fees of Mr. Petrov were released to Mr. Obiena from May 2018 up to August 2021, either personally or through his authorized representatives,” PATAFA stated.

PATAFA then ordered Obiena to return 85,000 euros (4.8 million pesos), an estimated amount for the head coaching fees of Petrov.

On the other hand, the superstar pole vaulter denied all the allegations thrown at him by PATAFA and filed complaints about defamation and slander.

Obiena is still demanding an apology from PATAFA and is planning to retire from pole vaulting if the situation worsens.