THE Philippine flag can be waved in its full glory at the Paris Olympics in July after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) cleared the Philippines of allegations that it failed to take corrective actions on testing and results management.

WADA's Chief Compliance Manager Emiliano Simonelli informed the head of the Philippine National Anti-Doping Organization (PHI-NADO), Dr. Alejandro Pineda, that the country's doping organization's corrective actions have been completed.

"I am pleased to confirm that in light of the latest developments, the compliance review committee has decided to sign off [on] the remaining pending critical corrective actions relating to testing and results management," Simonelli said in an email to Pineda.

"As a result, the compliance procedure has now been closed, and the case will not be filed before the Court of Arbitration for Sport," he added.

In September 2023, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) was told to comply with WADA's code by Jan. 22, 2024.

WADA said the country's sporting commission "has to comply with the code on developing and implementing an effective, intelligent and proportionate Test Distribution Plan and include all Registered Testing Pool athletes from sports or disciplines."

WADA said non-compliance would mean a ban on using the Philippine flag in the Olympics and other major international competitions, a ban from hosting regional, continental, and world championships, and the Philippines losing its WADA privileges and funding.

PHI-NADO disputed WADA's allegations on Feb. 13, the final day of the extended WADA deadline.

At the time, WADA said it would elevate the case to the Court of Arbitration of Sport, which would determine if the Philippines had indeed complied with its code.

The court's intervention, however, is no longer needed since WADA itself removed the Philippines from its compliance watch list.

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