PHILIPPINE Sports Commission (PSC) Commissioner Ramon Fernandez vowed to look into the alleged unfair treatment that Cebuana Olympian Mary Joy Tabal got from the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (Patafa).
Fernandez was outraged when he learned the alleged maltreatment through a full incident report that he requested from Tabal.
Patafa is headed by Philip Ella Juico.
The incident report that was submitted by Tabal last January consisted of e-mails, written letters and text messages between Tabal, her trainer John Philip Dueñas, Patafa and other stakeholders.
The exchanges started way before the 2015 Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) where Tabal won a silver medal in the women’s 42k-full marathon.
“Last Tuesday, I talked to him (Juico) over the phone and yes he confirmed that Joy will compete in SEA Games but not as part of the national team.
He told me that Joy is only after the monetary allowance. So is that why they are punishing her like this? That slot as a member of the national team was clearly and fairly earned by Joy,” Fernandez, known as ‘El Presidente’ during his colorful PBA career, told Cebu Daily News.
Fernandez said he will try to get to the bottom of the issue as one of PSC’s missions is to defend athletes who are mishandled by their respective national sports associations.
“I thank the athletes who reported to PSC. This is the time that there’s someone who will defend them. Joy’s case is just one of the many that we are looking at right now,” added Fernandez.
PSC will do its best to reinstate Tabal to the national team by setting a formal meeting with Juico, said Fernandez.
In the incident report, Fernandez said he learned that Tabal only received P7,000 monthly allowance from Patafa when she was still a member of the national team. She only lasted for half a year under Patafa and decided to resign when the issues escalated.
“She won the silver medal in SEA Games, but she did not receive her cash incentive,” said Fernandez. “What type of sports psychology are they giving to the athletes if they do these kind of things? That alone is a mortal sin.”
Fernandez cited three incidents which made him decide to fight for Tabal’s reinstatement to the national team. The first incident was when Patafa only notified Tabal that she was part of the national team for the 2015 SEA Games just a few weeks before the race. Second was when Patafa continued to force her to train in Manila when she was doing very well in Cebu. Third was when Patafa failed to provide Tabal the needed assistance in the hydration stations during the Rio Olympics when all of the competing nations were required to have at least one person to assist a runner.
“If NSA’s like Patafa continues to act like this, then we will be forced to go after them and we will remove the support that the government is giving them,” Fernandez said.