GETTING into the act, the Senate will hold an inquiry today into the row between the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association and pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena.
The hearing, scheduled online at 11 a.m. is initiated by Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senators Christopher “Bong” Go, Senate Sports Committee Chairman, Pia Cayetano and Leila de Lima, according to a Philippine Sports Commission source.
The source said invited to join the hearing are PSC Chairman “William” Butch Ramirez, athletics President Philip Ella Juico, Obiena and some national athletes and coaches.
The source was not sure if the Italy-based Obiena would be able to join the meeting since he recently began his campaign in the European indoor season, finishing fourth with a jump of 5.70 meters in the ISTAF indoor Berlin meet in the German capital last week.
Based on his schedule posted on his Facebook account, he will see action next in the International Pole Vault Invitational in Uppsala, Sweden on Wednesday.
Expected to be tackled during the meeting is the liquidation of expenses of the financial support the PSC, with Patafa approval, gave directly to Obiena in his training, participation in competitions and build-up to the Tokyo Olympic Games in August last year.
That included the salary supposed to be paid to his Ukrainian coach, Vitaly Petrov, who heads the World Athletics elite training camp in Formia, Italy and has been his mentor since 2015.
The Patafa alleged that Obiena had falsified his liquidation documents, including the forged signatures of Petrov, from May to September 2019.
