PATAFA defies POC suspension

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) will resist and take legal steps against its 90-day suspension recently imposed by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

“We will continue as the official NSA (national sports association) of track and field and we’ll send our athletes to the Southeast Asian Games,” said PATAFA president Philip Ella Juico during yesterday’s online briefing.

“We will continue what we are mandated to do until our international federation tells us to stop. We are resisting and we hope other NSAs will see this, but it’s up to them. We are taking all the necessary legal steps,” he added.

PATAFA chairman Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, for his part, called the ban “arbitrary, premature and whimsical.”

“There is an ongoing mediation between us and Mr. (EJ) Obiena and here comes the POC and out of nowhere suspended us,” said Rodriguez. “We are autonomous and we’ve always decided what’s best for our athletes. The suspension is illegal and unfounded.”

The POC has suspended PATAFA for failing to serve its purpose as an NSA, which according to the former must have “the dedication and commitment toward the development of the sport, promoting the ideals of the Olympic Movement and the spirit of sportsmanship.”