Security beefed up for SEA Games

Believing that no threat is minor or of secondary importance, the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Philsoc) has vowed to stage the 23rd SEA Games in an environment of total security, not only to ensure the safety of the athletes, officials and delegates but also to create a positive image for country on the international scene.

"We’ve been holding meetings and talks with the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines and we will continue to do so because we see security as vital in the successful hosting of the SEA Games," said Philsoc chair Roberto "Obet" Pagdanganan.

In fact, Pagdanganan has broached the idea of increasing its security budget initially worth P4 million.

"We don’t actually know how much money we will need but we will definitely add some more," said the former Bulacan governor, who is coordinating with police general Rodolfo Tor.

"He’s the one we’re currently holding talks with," he added.

Philsoc vice-chairman and Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose "Peping" Cojuangco, for his part, has suggested an additional P500 million just for intelligence fund and security.

"We’re saying we’ll need P1 billion, maybe we should raise it to 1.5 billion. I’m concerned about security, we’ll have games in many parts of the country," Cojuangco said.

When the country hosted the event in 1991, the money needed to mobilize forces from the police and the Armed Forces came from the budget of the PNP and AFP itself, with minor expenses like food and transportation shouldered by the organizers, or, in this case, the Philsoc.

Aside from the local police and the military, Pagdanganan wants to employ in-house security or blue guards to further improve security, which is expected to give the Philsoc nightmares since venues are scattered from the National Capital Region and nearby provinces in Luzon and Visayan sites Cebu and Bacolod cities.