Senators want Patafa cited for contempt for bypassing mediation with EJ Obiena
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 2:44 pm) — Four senators want to cite the board members of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) in contempt for bringing pole vaulter EJ Obiena to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland pending efforts to mediate the dispute.
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, and Sens. Pia Cayetano, Panfilo "Ping" Lacson and Francis Tolentino signed the motion. A copy of the letter was shared with members of the media late Wednesday.
"[W]e respectfully move that this Honorable Committee cite the Patafa's Board members in contempt under Section 18 of the Rules of the Senate," the motion read.
It explained that Patafa filed an arbitration case against Obiena before the Lausanne-based CAS four days after the Senate Committee on Sports decided to schedule a mediation proceeding on March 7.
Obiena, Patafa Chairman Rufus Rodriguez — also Cagayan de Oro congressman — Patafa president Philip Ella Juico and Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Butch Ramirez agreed to attend the mediation.
"Patafa's filing of the arbitration case violates this Honorable Committee’s order to undergo mediation proceedings. Obviously, this Honorable Committee gave that order so that the parties can amicably settle their dispute," the motion read.
The mediation on March 7 was supposed to de-escalate the conflict between Obiena and Patafa.
"[But] by filing the arbitration case, Patafa practically and effectively closed any possibility of amicable settlement with Mr. Obiena. Patafa escalated the conflict by giving Mr. Obiena another problem that will distract him from his training and consume his time, efforts, and resources," the motion said.
The motion said Patafa filed the arbitration case with approval from the association's 16 board members who were present during a hearing last month, where the Senate sports panel made a decision to hold such mediation.
Sen. Christopher "Bong" Go, who chairs the sports committee, separately said that they "will appropriately act on the motion to cite PATAFA in contempt."
"In the spirit of fairness, the Committee on Sports will issue a show-cause order to the Board of Directors of Patafa on why they should not be cited in contempt. After which, we will have another hearing to decide on the next course of action," he said in a statement over Viber.
Patafa and Obiena have been engaged in a spat since last year, with the association accusing the World No. 5 pole vaulter of falsifying liquidation reports and that the athlete failed to pay the fees of his Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov.
Obiena and Petrov have since then denied the allegations.
Obiena's career has been in limbo since then, as Patafa refused to endorse him in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games, and the World Indoor Championships- the global championship for athletics.
"[Our] country has not been put first by all. Country comes after personal considerations for some. This is more than unfortunate. The nation pays the price," Obiena said on Facebook, referring to Patafa's non-endorsement of his bid to enter the World Indoor Championships.
Patafa, established in 1964, is the national sports association overseeing athletics sports such as track and field, road running, cross country running and race walking.
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