Close to 8,000 athletes and officials from 11 countries will be in the country for the event where 411 gold medals in 41 sports will be disputed in venues from within Metro Manila and nearby provinces to Cebu and Bacolod.
Ensuring the safety of all the athletes and officials as well as the spectators, therefore, will be a difficult task. But Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee chairman Roberto Pagdanganan is unfazed.
"I’m happy with the way things are being done regarding the security aspect of the Games," he said the other day, adding that Police Gen. Rodolfo Tor and his security team is on top of the situation.
"We are being given a regular report by Gen. Tor. Security has always been part of the agenda in every Philsoc meeting. We are looking at the security of the Games by the detail," said Pagdanganan.
While the former tourism secretary sees and expects no major threat to the Games, what worries him is the possible occurrence of petty crimes against any of the delegates – both foreign and local.
Pagdanganan said they will leave no stone unturned to prevent even the occurrence of isolated cases of theft and robbery against foreigners when they go out on their own, especially at night.
He said Philsoc will deeply coordinate with the Philippine National Police or even the Armed Forces of the Philippines just to ensure the smooth and safe staging of the biennial event.
Police visibility during the Games, according to the Philsoc chairman, is a must.
Pagdanganan said they have yet to determine how many policemen will be detailed in the close to 40 venues in Manila, Quezon City, Pasay, Pasig, Parañaque, Antipolo, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Tagaytay, Subic and Los Baños, Laguna.
Security will also be tight in Cebu, which will host mountain bike, dancesport, pencak silat, karatedo, judo, sepak takraw and taekwondo; and Bacolod for boxing, men’s football, indoor and beach volleyball, and weightlifting.
"Everything is being taken into consideration, like the proximity of the hotels to the venues. How many minutes it will take to bring them back and forth is also being considered," said Pagdanganan.
This is the reason, he added, why athletes will be billeted according to sport and that their hotels will be "at least just a few minutes away" from their venues of competition.