President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. met with Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) officials and urged the country’s compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC).
Marcos tasked related agencies to strengthen the Philippine National Anti-Doping Organization (PHI-NADO) in accordance with the WADC, the Presidential Communications Office said in a Facebook post on Friday.
“Inatasan ni PBBM ang mga kaugnay na ahensya na aralin ang pagpapalakas ng Philippine National Anti-Doping Organization (PHI-NADO) alinsunod sa mga probisyon ng WADC,” the statement read.
On Tuesday, PSC chairman Richard Bachmann revealed that the agency is working with Malacanang to comply with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) legislative requirements and expressed confidence that the issue with the anti-doping body will be resolved.
PSC confident WADA issue will be resolved
The PHI-NADO needs to be empowered to ensure that the country complies with all the requirements of WADA, said Bachmann.
“Right now ang trato namin sa PHI-NADO is like an NSA. We just fund them. Siguro dapat independent na sila,” the PSC chairman said at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
The alleged non-compliance has placed the country under threat of suspension from international competitions such as the Paris Olympics, Asian Games, and Southeast Asian Games.
PSC says ‘nearing closure’ on anti-doping code requirements
In a separate statement last month, PSC said they are “nearing closure” on anti-doping code requirements by the WADA.
PH risks ban in sporting events, WADA warns
The anti-doping agency also said on its website that PHI-NADO is disputing allegations of non-compliance.
WADA has referred the issue to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for consideration.
