Obiena Getting ‘Multiple’ Passport Offers Amid PATAFA Row – Mentor

Even before he got tangled in a heated row with the Philippine Athletics of Track and Field Association (PATAFA), Ernest John “EJ” Obiena has been getting passport offers from multiple countries, his mentor revealed. 

“Long before this happened, there was already a line of people at this door to offer him a passport,” Obiena’s longtime mentor, athletics coach Jim Lafferty, told One Sports’ Gretchen Ho. 

Although he did not specifically mention which countries have offered Obiena a passport, Lafferty said that there were “multiple” nations.

Lafferty added that Obiena “is the hottest thing in track and field” as he is rising up in world rankings, previously from No. 30 later climbing up to No. 5, then later slipping to No. 6.

“Everyone’s afraid and scared of him,” Lafferty said, later recalling a conversation with a Brazilian coach who told him that the pole vaulter is “the number one guy out there” and that he is “going to win in big competitions.”

Obiena, who is No. 6 in the world pole vault rankings as per World Athletics, is currently in a rift with his national federation, which earlier accused him of falsifying liquidation reports.

PATAFA ordered Obiena to return 85,000 euros (over P4.8 million), which was intended to pay for the salary of his foreign coach Vitaliy Petrov. It also wants the pole vault star to prove that he has been paying Petrov on time from 2018 onwards.  

Describing the allegations as character assassination, Obiena filed a countermeasure against the national federation before the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Athletics.

He also denied the allegations of embezzling money, saying he had paid his coach in full. Petrov backed his statement.

The star pole vaulter also slammed PATAFA for giving him the burden of directly paying the coaching fees, confirming that there were instances that he was late in some of the payments as he was focused on his training.

Obiena, who is currently training in Italy, placed 11th in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and holds the Asian record in men’s pole vault of 5.93 meters. 

‘System is messed up’ 

Lafferty also slammed PATAFA over the allegations it made magainst Obiena, saying “the system is messed up” when it came to paying the coaching fees.  

“Let’s start with some simple facts. I have seen now what the work of a forensic auditor has done, there were payments made to Vitaly Petrov in 2019, 2020, 2021. Anyone saying that he had only paid recently in 2021, that is an outright false statement,” he said. 

Obiena’s mentor added that PATAFA has also been late in sending the grant for the pole vaulter. “Who is late? Everybody is late on the whole thing. Here is the interesting thing: this system is so messed up. If this was a corporation everybody involved would be fired and we would have to start over,” he stressed.  

Lafferty also reacted to the letters that Obiena received from PATAFA ordering him to return the money intended for his coach.

“When you ask someone to return 85,000 euros, you assume they stole it. If he had given it to Petrov, how is he supposed to return it to PATAFA? When you write a letter ‘I demand that they return the money,’ you already made the presumption that they have taken it,” he added.

Lafferty said his heart breaks for Obiena, describing him as “the best young guy I’ve ever known.”

“He is a better human being than he is an athlete, and he is being destroyed by this vengeance and vindictiveness that’s not even explanatory… I will not stand aside and watch someone I care about and have his life ruined. He’s 26 years old. Why are we making the rest of his life miserable?” he added. 

Should there be no end to this row, Lafferty thinks that Obiena will never vault for the Philippines again. 

“In my opinion, if something doesn't happen soon, either he’ll step away and it’s no secret that a number of countries are looking at this situation and laughing uncontrollably how the Philippines is driving away a world-class athlete that they can offer a passport to,” he said.