The Philippine National Anti-Doping Organization (PHI-NADO) respects the decision of the International Testing Agency (ITA) sanctioning a two-year ban on Philippine Weightlifter Vanessa Sarno due to an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV).

According to the ITA, Sarno committed three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period. While the decision may be challenged, Vanessa Sarno has just agreed and accepted the sanction imposed. PHI-NADO Executive Director, Dr. Alejandro V. Pineda Jr. clarifies that, “This does not mean that Sarno tested positive on a prohibited substance.”

Under Article 2.4 of the World Anti-Doping Code 2021, “Whereabouts Failure” is referred to as “Any combination of three missed tests and/or filing failures, as defined in the International Standard for Testing and Investigations, within a twelve-month period by an athlete in a Registered Testing Pool constitutes an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV).” Such violation occurs if an athlete has three (3) failures within twelve (12) months. These whereabouts failures may be: 1) Missed Test – not being available during the declared 60-minute testing slot; or 2) Filing Failure – not submitting accurate whereabouts information on time.

Athletes included in the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) are required to provide accurate and updated whereabouts information. RTP is a group of athletes who are usually top-level or high-risk and are selected by their International Federation (IF) or National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) to be part of the priority in anti-doping monitoring.

To avoid anti-doping rule violations, PHI-NADO consistently reminds the athletes in the RTP to update their whereabouts; furthermore, PHI-NADO coordinates with their respective sports federations to ensure compliance.

The “whereabouts system” is a reminder that being “clean” in sport is not only about avoiding banned substances—but also about strict compliance with anti-doping rules to protect sport integrity and promote fairness for all athletes.

PHI-NADO, as the recognized and accredited national anti-doping organization by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Southeast Asia Regional Anti-Doping Organization (SEARADO), is committed to maintain the integrity of sports in the Philippines by ensuring the country’s compliance to anti-doping policies, implementing doping controls, and educating the athletes, as well as the general public on the value of clean sport.