Ernest John Obina of the Philippines. (Photo by Tobias Schwartz / Pool / AFP)
Paul Walter Ernest John Obina and the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) have buried the hatchet and are ready to move on from their cracks.
This means Obina could return to focus on representing the Philippines – defending her Southeast Asian (SEA) title defense on the horizon in May – and Patafa could focus on her programs (POC) without facing a Philippine Olympic Committee ban.
The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), which led a mediation process aimed at establishing peace between Obina and its national federation, announced on Wednesday that the two parties had finally reached a resolution.
“Mr. Obina has expressed his apology to the board members of PATAFA. [Patafa president Philip] Juico and his teammates and both (Obina and Patafa) have promised to forgive each other, to start anew and move on, “the PSC said in a statement.
Patafa sparks controversy when it accuses Obina of misappropriating training funds and filing false financial reports about the salary of his coach Vitaly Petrov. World No. 5 fired back at Patafa, denying the allegations and confronting Petrov for falling behind in his payments.
Apologies
Obiena said any solution to the conflict would require Patafa to withdraw its allegations and seek an apology. The Patafa, meanwhile, insisted that “Obina be asked whether he paid Petrov on time, as he claimed in various liquidation reports submitted to the association.”
Obina’s liquidation papers were sent to the Commission on Audit (COA) for scrutiny. Nothing has come out of the COA investigation and what state auditors have found will probably be kept secret. The PSC statement states that “all information discussed and disclosed in that mediation is confidential as agreed by all parties.”
Obina could not be reached at press time when Zuiko did not respond to a request for comment.
The statement said Patafa had agreed to “approve Mr Obina at the 2022 Southeast Asian Games and the 2022 World Outdoor Athletics” and that “Mr Obina would be allowed to participate in other competitions subject to general rules and regulations.” “
The PSC statement came after the PSC General Assembly (GA) postponed the formality of suspending Patafa, reaching a conclusion after positive developments from the arbitration table.
“For the sake of sportsmanship and because of the lantern season, I have postponed the decision to suspend Patafa as per the decision of the POC executive board,” said POC President Rep. Abraham “Bumblebee” Talentino says 6
“And because of the incomplete mediation process between Patafa and EJ Obiena, a vote to suspend the Athletics Federation was not proposed at the GA (POC General Assembly),” Talentino added after the hybrid GA held at the Knights Templar Hotel in Tagaytay.
Chief mediator
The announcement came after PSC chairman William Ramirez, chief mediator, said talks between Obina and Juico were going smoothly.
The POC executive board initially decided to suspend the local athletics body for 90 days due to a dispute with Obina.
The Asian record holder has already missed the opportunity to participate in trailblazing at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia earlier this month.
Meanwhile, POC GA has slammed the Philippine Tennis Association (FILTA), upholding the executive board’s decision to suspend Filta for 90 days after failing to comply with International Tennis Federation (ITF) guidelines.
Out of 55 voting members, a total of 42 national sports bodies have approved the filter suspension due to non-compliance with an ITF directive to amend the association’s charter and make an inclusive selection of officers.
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