EJ Obiena says he has no issue with PSC mediation but wants to finish POC process first

On Friday, the night before Christmas, Filipino Olympian and pole vaulter EJ Obiena took to social media his thoughts about the Philippine Sports Commission's (PSC) mediation process, saying he has no issue with it but wants to see a similar process already underway through to conclusion first.

The mediation was offered by the PSC to help resolve the issue between Obiena and his mother organization, the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA).

In his post, Obiena clarified that he has no problem with the PSC mediation. "In fact, I was the first to agree to it verbally but things change when the other party neglected the moratorium imposed by PSC and continued to insinuate ill behaviors," Obiena added.

On November 24, the PSC asked both Obiena and PATAFA to 'refrain from issuing statements' regarding the issue on the pole vaulter's financial assistance. Personalities from Obiena's camp and PATAFA, however, both issued statements after the said date.

Obiena, in the same post, said there is already a process underway with the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and International Olympic Committee related to his case on harassment. "I believe it’s appropriate to allow this process to finish unencumbered by outside matters such as a parallel mediation process. I believe it’s right to allow several more days for the POC process to conclude," he added.

The Asian record holder in pole vault also said he "honestly don’t see what is left to mediate."

Obiena also reiterated his previous statements on PATAFA 'shifting allegations' about the issue.

"And now, in the ever-shifting witch hunt the clear last gasp of my accusers is to state my sponsors “covered” for me and I never paid them. I can promise you that this is complete fiction and I have prepaid most of it and have repaid every centavo. We have proof of all payments from myself to my sponsor and this will be released into the public domain for transparency," he added.

With this, Obiena asked, "After this, what is there to mediate?"

"Every accusation had been refuted. What is left is a clearing of my good name, my full reinstatement, and necessary changes to the system to avoid this situation to ever happen again and avoid this burden being placed on athletes," the pole vaulter said.

"If after the POC process is final, and my payment records are public, there is still a belief in mediation then at that time I am 100% ready to sit down and do so."

Obiena admitted that the process is exhausting, but he thanked those who support him in his journey. "You guys are the reason I keep fighting and still fighting," he said.

The POC on November 27 said it has started the ethics committee investigation on Obiena's funding.

According to reports, PATAFA recently encouraged Obiena to submit to PSC's mediation efforts.

—JMB, GMA News