PSC plays it right

There is finally some clarity as to what will happen with regards the financial issue between the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) and EJ Obiena, the world’s fifth-ranked pole vaulter and the only Asian in the sport’s Top 10. The Philippine Sports Commission has offered to mediate the dispute, which unfortunately has been public from the get-go. The government agency’s leadership seems to be the only group that knows the rules governing these situations, and they’re making the right play.

On Tuesday, no less than four esteemed members of the Senate, led by Sen. Pia Cayetano, called out the PSC for keeping its hands off the issue, then recommended recalling the commission’s 2022 budget in light of neutrality. Fortunately, that was the same day that the PSC had its weekly board meeting, which stretched on for hours. Thus, the agency’s officials were unable to reply immediately. The problem is that the supposedly “confidential” documents detailing the allegations against Obiena were leaked to several members of the sports media days before PATAFA went public with them. This is unfair to both Obiena and the media, who couldn’t run the story because it seemed improper to only air one side.

At any rate, as a government agency under the Office of the President, the PSC cannot get involved in the internal troubles of any national sports association (NSA). That would be government intervention. The commission can review, audit or suspend funding to any sport with just cause. Since 2016, Chairman Butch Ramirez has stood firm on his instruction for NSAs to liquidate all the public funds given to them. In instances where they haven’t liquidated, the PSC would just disburse allowances directly to the athletes, even overseas. In some cases, such as sports excluded from two consecutive Southeast Asian Games, the commission can cut funding entirely.

Secondly, if there would be any recall of the budget (which was already approved before this sad situation), both houses would have to agree. With the holidays coming soon, there would be little time for everyone to work on it, as both houses are reviewing budgets of all government agencies.

As has been the diplomatic nature of the current PSC board, they have offered to mediate the standoff, becoming the potential savior of the situation. Meanwhile, the Philippine Olympic Committee has instructed its ethics committee to investigate the alleged misuse of € 85,000 by Obiena. POC President Bambol Tolentino was saddened by the embarrassing airing of dirty linen in public, and he has a point. It amplified animosity between athlete and federation. And it was totally unnecessary. Now we’ve learned that other countries have been beating a path to Obiena’s door to offer him other citizenship to compete for them. What a monumental waste of talent that would be, like losing world-class talent such as chess player Wesley So, ice skater Melissa Bulanhagui  and others.

The moral of the story is to learn all the facts before jumping to conclusions, and handling matters discreetly so as not to wrongly embarrass anyone. You can always save getting upset for later.