Doha to RP: Make do with 316 beds

It’s 316 beds. No more, no less.

The Doha Asian Games Organizing Committee (Dagoc) has stressed that due to limited space at the Athletes Village it can only offer 316 beds for the Filipino contingent.

Butch Ramirez, the RP chef-de-mission, said Dagoc turned down a request by the Philippines for more beds to accommodate 267 athletes and 133 coaches and assistant coaches for the Dec. 5 to 15 event.

Doha organizers the other week asked all 44 participating countries to reduce the size of their respective delegations after the total number exceeded their expectations.

Doha only expected 10,000 athletes and officials to be part of the quadrennial event, but was stunned to learn that the total has reached more than 13,000 with over 50 days to go.

"Doha has insisted on 316 beds for the Philippine contingent. So we can’t do anything about the number," said Ramirez, chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission.

The Filipino athletes and officials will occupy 25 apartments inside the Athletes Village. Each apartment is good for 13 persons.

Filipino sports officials wrote their Doha counterparts saying all they needed were additional beds and not extra apartments. They planned to place the beds in the lounge of each apartment.

"But they did not allow us to use the lounge. Dagoc is firm on the 316 beds," added Ramirez who will tackle the issue with Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose Cojuangco on Monday.

Ramirez said since the peak of the Filipino presence at the Athletes Village on a single day is 316 (on Dec. 8), there could be ways to manage the situation.

"We have to go over the exact schedule of the arrival and departure of all Filipino athletes and officials, and maybe find ways how we can all settle in with 316 beds," Ramirez added.

The PSC chairman said the final option is to cut down on the number. If this should happen, they will start with the officials before they cut athletes off the list.

Ramirez clarified that the number does not include the officials of the 33 different national sports officials who will have to go there on their own, buy their own plane tickets and book their own hotel reservations.