The Philippine Sports Commission is soliciting the support of the national government and the Philippine Olympic Committee to help resolve its non-compliance to the World Anti-Doping Agency code that put the country on the brink of getting suspended from the international arena.
PSC chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann yesterday said he is seeking an audience with no less than President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., legislators and ranking POC officials to help him resolve the mess created by the country’s non-compliance with the WADA guidelines.
The meeting is set this Friday and Bachmann is hoping that the Chief Executive can support them in disputing the WADA findings before the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sports.
“With everyone helping out, from the legislation, the government, we have a meeting this Friday with President BBM and I’m confident that we will be able to solve this case,” Bachmann said during the Philippine Sportswriters Association yesterday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
“We are working with Malacañang on the legislative requirement of WADA. The help of Malacañang is greatly appreciated.”
The Philippines is facing a ban in the international arena after WADA claimed that its national anti-doping agency failed to comply with several “critical requirements” in its anti-doping program.
With that, the Filipinos are facing the risk of losing their rights within WADA and might no longer be allowed to host major international tournaments. The world anti-doping watchdog is also tipped to propose a ban on flying the Philippine flag in major international events, including the Olympics, with Filipino athletes marching under the International Olympic banner.
If and when the sanctions push through, it’s going to be a major blackeye to the Filipino athletes, who are preparing to celebrate their 100th year of Olympic participation in Paris from 26 July to 11 August.
WADA already referred the case to CAS, which will make the final verdict.
In fact, there was a Filipino boxer who tested positive for banned substances in 2016, prompting the WADA to scrutinize the anti-doping guidelines of the Philippine Anti-Doping Organization.
Bachmann assured the national athletes, especially those preparing for the Paris Olympics, that everything is under control.
“I already reached out to Richard Gomez of the POC to help me find the boxer. Also, Al Panlilio and Erika Dy of SBP (Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas), are helping us find a lawyer who is familiar with the CAS and WADA,” he said.
Phinado representative Nathan Vasquez said two of the four requirements based on the WADA Code of Compliances have already been settled.
“Based on the code compliance, we need to conform with four requirements — open testing distribution program, athlete’s biological passport, registration testing pool and results management. We checked out on the first two, we’re halfway checking out the third and we’re now working on the fourth,” Vasquez said.
“We’re still working on the corrective actions, as long as everything is checked off, everything is going to be well.”
PSC executive director Paulo Tatad also assured athletes that they will eventually overcome the issue and their training and preparation for the Olympics will not be hampered.
“The submission of this position paper was guided by WADA legal, so if WADA can side with our position paper, then yes, this would be checked off immediately,” Tatad said.
“It’s business as usual for the athletes. Nothing is jeopardized.”
