Dropping EJ Obiena from national team a vengeful act, says POC chief Bambol Tolentino

The Philippine Olympic Committee branded the decision of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) to drop elite pole vaulter EJ Obiena from the national team as a "vengeful act."

POC president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino on Tuesday said that he had expected Obiena to be expelled from the Philippine team, an act that he said shut the country's dreams of making it big on the Olympic stage.

PATAFA earlier said it approved the recommendations of its administrative committee to remove the 2020 Tokyo Olympian from the national training pool after the conclusion of its investigation on Obiena's alleged misuse of funds.

"I expected EJ will be dropped from the national team by his NSA as a vengeful act," Tolentino said in a statement.

"The action of Mr. Juico in removing EJ Obiena from the National Pool is an expected result of his expose. A vengeful act that shuts down the chances of the Philippines from its Olympic dream. The POC has made an early evaluation of this and, I am sorry that we cannot make our cards shown in public."

"Suffice it to say that we are created for the Olympic dreams of our athletes and we will support our athletes in achieving their dreams."

Tolentino also said that the ball is now in the court of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

Aside from dropping Obiena from the national team, recommendations also included filing an Estafa case against him for allegedly misusing PATAFA funds amounting to 6,000 euros.

A copy of the report will also be sent to both PSC and Commission on Audit, who will then review the 61,026.80 euros released to Obiena by the PSC as payment to his coach Vitaly Petrov.

PATAFA chairman Rufus Rodriguez clarified that only funds concerning PATAFA will be included in the Estafa case they are set to file.

"There are also funds of PATAFA which we are also filing for estafa, these are the 6,000 euros from PATAFA. This is not PSC, this is PATAFA funds. That’s why we can file [for estafa] because that’s the money of PATAFA," Rodriguez said.

"But then the book of 61,000 euros, that is the amount that was given by PSC to PATAFA and then was given to EJ, which we are now submitting to PSC. It will be PSC because it’s their money."

Tolentino, though, asked PSC if it will allow Obiena, now the world no. 6 in pole vault, to be removed from the national team given his past achievement and potential.

"The ball is now with the PSC, will the PSC allow EJ to be stricken off from the national team (SEA Games and Asian Games year)? Will the government allow a world-class athlete to be out of the national team?" asked Tolentino.

"Being the Asian record holder, No. 6 in the world and No. 3 best performer in 2021, will the PSC allow one gold medal to be lost in Huangzhou long before the Asian Games?" — LA, GMA News