Cut the cost to stage SEAG — Obet

With no clear source to fund the estimated P1.5 billion staging of next year’s Southeast Asian Games, Philsoc (Philippine Southeast Asian Games organizing committee) chairman Roberto "Obet" Pagdanganan yesterday hinted at trimming down everything to ensure the staging of the event, including a cut in the budget and the number of events.

Pagdanganan told senators during the hearing yesterday of the Senate Committee on Games, Amusement and Sports chaired by Sen. Lito Lapid that the Philippines can afford to host the SEA Games next year "if we will cut our funding from the earlier reported amount of more than P1 billion to P700 million."

At the same time, Pagdanganan said backing from hosting the event will only place the country in an embarrassing situation before the international community.

"We will find ourselves embarrassed in the international community once we backed out from hosting the SEA Games next year," Pagdanganan said.

Pagdanganan said that P410 million of the P700 million will be used by his committee in the two important phases of the SEA Games which include the procurement of equipment and preparationsof facilities and the organization and management proper of the Games.

He said his committee can tap the private sector and other government agencies to help fund the country’s hosting of the SEA Games.

"We will see to it that the P700 million to P800 million budget will be enough for the whole event. We are cutting it to the barest minimum. We intend to tap the help of the private sector," Pagdangan said.

For his part, Celso Dayrit, president of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), said that the country will be losing its opportunity to promote tourism and sports once it back out from hosting the SEA Games next year.

"It is an opportunity for us Filipinos to be proud. It’s not a matter of being embarrassed. We are not yet talking about the needs of the athletes because we expect that the PSC is well-funded like in 1981," Dayrit said.

For his part, Lapid said that he will allot P50 million of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to the SEA Games next year to make sure that the Philippine government will look good in the international community.

"I am asking my colleagues in the Senate to allot P50 million each of their PDAF to the SEA Games. The Philippine Sports Commission told the Senate that they only have P30 million budget remaining, but they can do something to meet their needed funding. They said that if the country’s hosting of the SEA Games will not push through, we will be embarrassed in other countries and there will be no other interested to host it," Lapid said.

Meanwhile, Henry Manalang, coach of archer Jasmin Figueroa who also spoke on behalf of the Philippine athletes in yesterday’s hearing, scored Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Eric Buhain’s decision to suspend the monthly allowance and food allowance of the local athletes..

Buhain said that the PSC was compelled to cancel the funding for the stipend and food allowance of the developmental athletes because of the limited money that the PSC has at present.