THE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) cried foul over the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association’s (Patafa) decision to not endorse Olympic pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena in four major international tournaments.Obiena, the Asian record holder in men’s pole vault, wrote the Patafa on Feb. 24, 2022, asking for his endorsement for the world indoors in Belgrade on March 18-20, the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi on May 12-23, the World Championships in Eugene in Oregon on July 15 to 24 and the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou on Sept. 12 -25.However, the Patafa denied Obiena’s request in a letter by Patafa Training Director Renato Unso on Feb. 28.“Again, how many more gold medals or what more achievements does EJ need to get Patafa’s endorsement?” POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said.“He’s the best in Asia and his numbers have been rising consistently, but still he’s bound to be denied more medals for the country.”Obiena’s long-standing rift with the Patafa has actually reached the confines of the Court of Arbitration for Sport after association president Philip Ella Juico filed a complaint against the Tokyo Olympian and the POC last Feb. 11.The rift stems from Obiena’s liquidation of his coach Vitaly Petrov’s salaries that evolved into the athlete’s accusation of harassment by his national sports association.Obiena leaped to 5.81 meters in two competitions in Poland last month—winning gold medals in both and making him eligible for the world championships.“My 5.81m jump in my two title wins in the Orlen Cup (Feb. 13) and the Orlen Copernicus Cup (Feb. 23) both in Poland officially made the standard required for the 2022 World Indoor Athletics Championship and 2022 World Athletics Championship,” Obiena said in his letter to Patafa he addressed to the federation’s board.“It is also better than my 2019 SEA Games gold medal standard and the 2018 Asian Games Gold medal standard,” he added.The Patafa denied his request citing the non-completion of mediation procedures.“By authority of the Patafa Board of Trustees, please be informed that the Patafa Board of Trustees will not act on your letter… pending completion of the mediation process being conducted by the Philippine Sports Commission,” the Patafa said in its response.