Isa umanong malaking kahihiyan para sa bansa ang naging desisyon niPhilippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) President Philip Ella Juico na alisin sa Philippine team si Pinoy pole vault star EJ Obiena kamakailan.
Ito ang reaksyon ni Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles at sinabing dapat hinarang ng Philippine Sports Commission (PCS) ang nasabing hakbang ni Juico dahil labag umano ito sa Konstitusyon.
Kaugnay nito, euapela rin si Nograles, Vice-Chairman ng of the House Committee on Youth and Sports Development sa PSC, na kumilos at suportahan si Obiena dahil sayang umano ang mga gintong medalya na posibleng mahahablotng Pilipinas sa pagsabak sana ni Obiena saAsian Championships sa Kazakhstan, SEA Games sa Vietnam, Asian Games sa China, at World Championships sa Oregon.
Pagdidiin ng kongresista, ang kontrobersya na likha ng aksyon ni Juico laban sa world’s number 3 pole vaulter, ay malaking kahihiyan sa bansa, lalo na sa sporting community.
“I don’t understand why Juico had to do this kind of action whereas he could have just admitted he was wrong, apologized, and moved on. It is without a doubt that he wrongly accused Obiena of financial indiscretion. He should have been a sportsman enough to accept his mistake. Juico is the face of everything that is wrong about Philippine sports,” pagbibigay-diin pa ng mambabatas.
Bert de Guzman