Palembang SEAG faces billeting woes

MANILA, Philippines - Billeting problems could be one of the main concerns of the Filipino athletes set to compete in the 26th Southeast Asian Games slated Nov. 11-25 in Palembang and Jakarta, Indonesia.

Reports from an Indonesian English newspaper said the athletes’ village located in Palembang, the main hub, could only house half of the earlier projection of 6,000 athletes with the rest forced to stay in nearby hotels.

“It’s a serious problem but we’ve been coordinating with the Indonesian organizers to guarantee our athletes will have a place to stay,” said Romeo Magat, one of the two assistant chiefs of mission of the Phl delegation.

“The billeting issue should be solved because we don’t want to distract our athletes competing there so we have to be ready to solve it and other problems that our team might encounter,” said the tennis secretary-general.

SEAG organizers are currently being hit by controversies after one of its top sports officials was charged with graft and majority of the venues’ construction, worth $23 million, still far from being complete with barely four months before the biennial meet.

Magat said the number of SEAG-bound Filipino athletes could increase to as many as 900 and more than half are going to Palembang, which hosts 25 of the 44 sports to be played in SEAG. The rest of the sports events are scheduled in Jakarta.

The same daily reported that the aquatics center, track and field stadium and shooting range in Palembang remain unfinished at this stage of the SEAG preparations.