At the same time, members of the SEAGF council have agreed on the numbers of sports (40) and the number of events (441) to be disputed in next year’s SEA Games in Thailand.
"This is a big honor for the Philippines as it affirms the high level of trust and respect our SEAG neighbors have for us," said swimming president Mark Joseph.
Among the initiatives Cojuangco has in his disposal are the establishment of a permanent secretariat of the SEAG Federation, the organization of the pre-Beijing Olympic competition in select sports, and the coordination efforts with SEAG sports family to improve the region’s performances at the World and Olympic levels.
"South East Asia is fast becoming recognized as a potential continental sports power in Asia. We have highly respective Asian and world sports leaders and the Filipinos top the list for having successfully hosted the 2005 SEA Games, now a benchmark for future SEA Games," said Joseph.
The Philippines hosted last year’s SEA Games and emerged the overall champion for the first time in history. From 41 sports and 441 events, the Filipinos won 113 gold, 86 silver and 92 bronze medals.
Aside from Cojuangco, the RP officials who attended the 11-nation meeting were Go Teng Kok, Buddy Andrada and Atty. Ding Tanjuatco.
The next SEA Games is scheduled Dec. 6 to 15 next year. Main hub is the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, which will host 33 sports like athletics (45 golds), aquatics (39), gymnastics (20) and basketball (2).
The other disciplines will be disputed in the capital city of Bangkok and its neighboring Chonburi. — Abac Cordero