Seven-man RP contingent off to Doha

A seven-man Philippine delegation, led by sports commission chairman William "Butch" Ramirez, leaves for Doha, Qatar today on a six-day visit to pave the way for the arrival of the RP contingent in November for the 15th Asian Games.

Ramirez, the RP Asian Games chef de mission, will be accompanied by PSC commissioner Richie Garcia and Mario Tanchangco, deputy chef de mission; PSC commissioner Jose Mundo, Nestor Ilagan, administration officer; Norberto Dinglasan, transport officer; and Anna Mendoza Ruiz, senior sports games regulation officer.

The group will be inspecting the venues, including the Khalifa Stadium, Hamad Aquatic Center, Doha Racing and Equestrian Club, Al Sadd Indoor Hall, and the Al Wusayl Olympic Shooting Complex.

A visit to the athletes village is in the itinerary, as with meetings with representatives of accommodation, catering, media services, youth camp, information technology, transport, accreditation, protocol, and sports.

A dinner meeting with officials of the Doha Asian Games Organizing Committee (DAGOC) is set on Aug. 28.

"We will be briefed on various playing fields and meet people at the helm," said Tanchangco, also the sepak takraw president.

Ramirez, along with Mauricio "Moying" Martelino, RP-Asian Games delegation administrative officer, will also leave next month for Pattaya, Thailand to attend the pre-delegation registration meetings.

"All registration data sent by the Philippine Olympic Committee to the 15th Asian Games will be reviewed and verified there," said Ramirez.

The meetings aim to reduce the workload in registration when the different delegations arrive at the host country.

"There’s usually a backlog once athletes and officials fly in," said Ramirez. "This will effectively remedy that problem since all the screenings will be done in Pattaya, facilitating the distribution of IDs."

After verifications are made, all documents will be sent to Doha for processing. Visas will then be issued to the member countries.

Only the 11 Southeast Asian countries — Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, East Timor and Myanmar — will be served in Pattaya.