CEBU CITY, Philippines– The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) declared Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) chief Philip Ella Juico persona non grata due to his ongoing rift with pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena.
The POC came up with this decision after holding an executive board meeting on Tuesday, December 28 at the East Ocean Seafood Restaurant in Pasay City.
“The POC approved the recommendation of the Ethics Committee declaring Juico as persona non grata,” said POC chief Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
“We do not recognize him anymore as president of PATAFA [Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association] until the new election of its president,” Tolentino added.
Tolentino clarified that Patafa remains as POC’s identified NSA for athletics amidst Juico’s sanctioning.
He added that all current Patafa officers remain recognized by the POC.
Juico’s sanction was recommended by POC’s Ethics Committee whose investigation concluded that the Patafa chief ‘harassed’ Obiena by creating “malicious public accusations.”
The committee report said that Obiena, a finalist at the Tokyo Olympics and Asian men’s record holder, was accused and maligned publicly by Juico in media in November for allegedly falsifying his liquidation report for his Ukranian coach Vitaly Petrov’s salary.
The report also said that the accusations on Obiena insinuated theft according to rowing association president Patrick Gregorio who heads the Ethics Committee.
Out of the 15 members of the POC Executive Board, 11 approved the recommendation to declare Juico as persona non-grata.
It will be ratified by POC’s general assembly next month.
Among those who favored Juico’s sanctioning were POC honorary president Ricky Vargas, first vice president Al Panlilo, second vice president Richard Gomez, treasurer Cynthia Carrion-Norton, auditor Joaquin Loyzaga and board members David Carter, Dr. Jose Raul Canlas, Pearl Managuelod, Athletes’ Commission head Nikko Huelgas and Secretary General Edwin Gastanes.
Charlie Ho of netball and International Olympic Committee Representative to the Philippines Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski abstained.
Tolentino didn’t vote as he presided over the meeting in the absence of chairman Steve Hontiveros.
Juico is the second NSA official to be declared persona non grata after Go Teng Kok, who was also the PATAFA president when then POC chief Jose Cojuangco Jr. slapped the sanction in 2011.
On the other hand, Tolentino assured Obiena, the world’s current No. 5 pole vaulter that he will be endorsed by POC as a representative for the Philippines in various international meets in 2022.
Obiena is scheduled to compete in May’s 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, and the 19th Asian Games in Huangzhou, China in September.
In the event that Patafa won’t endorse Obiena, the POC will be there to endorse him as part of the national team instead. /rcg