EJ Obiena, PATAFA reach settlement after prolonged row -PSC

The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) and star athlete EJ Obiena on Wednesday have agreed to put their conflict behind them after both camps reached a settlement.

The Philippine Sports Commission said in a statement that the athletics body and the world no. 6 pole vaulter have reconciled after they conducted a fifth mediation today in a virtual setup.

"The Philippine Sports Commission-led mediation proceedings on the athletics row reached its fifth session today. It is with much joy that we announce that both parties have agreed to a settlement and the proceedings ended successfully," PSC said.

"PSC chairman William Ramirez who served as the sole mediator in the proceedings expressed his happiness that the first-ever sport mediation conducted by the PSC successfully assisted both parties to arrive at a settlement."

Not disclosing the full details of the mediation as per the request of the parties, PSC shared that the 26-year-old Obiena apologized to PATAFA and its president Philip Ella "Popoy" Juico as well as to his teammates as the issue surrounding them had been dragging on since November 2021.

"After the fifth session, Mr. Juico and, Mr. Obiena and Chairman Ramirez met in a private virtual room for discussion. Mr. Obiena expressed his apologies to PATAFA, its board members, Mr. Juico and his teammates, and both have assured each other of forgiveness, to start anew and move on," the statement added.

"Chairman Ramirez declared that humility really played a big part in this process. He said that their decision to enter into this process was their first step towards a successful resolution."

The rift between the PATAFA and Obiena started when the former accused the Olympian of misusing the funds supposedly readied for his Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov.

Since then, Obiena had completed his liquidation papers while PATAFA initially said did not endorse Obiena to the Southeast Asian Games as well as the World Indoor Championships.

With two camps letting bygones be bygones, PSC said PATAFA will now endorse the athlete to major international tournaments such as the biennial meet, where Obiena is the reigning gold medalist.

—Bea Micaller/MGP, GMA News