{"id":238947,"date":"2019-12-02T02:09:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T07:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=238947"},"modified":"2019-12-02T02:09:25","modified_gmt":"2019-12-02T07:09:25","slug":"duterte-says-sea-games-hosting-errors-could-have-been-avoided","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/12\/02\/duterte-says-sea-games-hosting-errors-could-have-been-avoided\/","title":{"rendered":"Duterte says SEA Games hosting errors could have been avoided"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte at the Malaca\u00f1an Palace on November 28, 2019. TOTO LOZANO\/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA –<\/strong>– President Rodrigo Duterte said mistakes in the Philippine hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games could have been avoided if the PHP6-billion budget for the multisport event was used \u201ccorrectly.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a television interview on GMA’s Unang Hirit aired Monday morning, Duterte admitted that any hosting of large-scale events could never be perfect, but making most out of the fund could have minimized errors.<\/p>\n

Ahead of its formal opening on November 30, the biennial meet was marred with problems related to accommodation, facilities, food, transportation among others.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can do it, not really with precision, but had you made most of the money then you could have avoided the critical situations, the mishaps,\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

Duterte emphasized that the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) Foundation Inc. had at least two years to prepare for the multisport meet but failed to anticipate logistical problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had so many years to prepare for it. So how come\u00a0na ganyan ang nangyari<\/em>\u00a0(that\u2019s what happened)? And even in the food, and in the billeting of the hotel\u00a0na hindi nila alam kung saang<\/em>\u00a0hotel (they don\u2019t know which hotel),\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese things could have been avoided if you used the money correctly,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He also criticized the need for Phisgoc to rely on private bus companies to transport athletes to their hotels and sporting venues for practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do not wait for the bus companies to send their buses to help you out,\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

The President said he did not blame a particular person or group for the biennial event\u2019s ill-preparedness, but pointed out that the \u201chuge fund\u201d should have been enough to avoid such problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not attributing it to anybody but you know it\u2019s a huge fund and there ought not to have problems like even logistics and things,\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you would ponder on it, it\u2019s actually negligence or unforeseen events that you failed to prepare for,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Last week, Duterte said his office would look into alleged corruption and shortcomings in the hosting of the SEA Games.<\/p>\n

The President said he would create a fact-finding body that will investigate the supposed mishandling of Phisgoc, chaired by House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.<\/p>\n

While he is convinced that the SEA Games’ mess was “unintentional,” Duterte said he wants to find out what went wrong when it comes to organizing the event.<\/p>\n

Duterte said those who will be under investigation including Cayetano, will be accorded due process.<\/p>\n

Hard work paying off<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo congratulated the Filipino athletes saying he was pleased to know that their hard work in training is paying off.<\/p>\n

As of Dec. 2, 12 noon, the Philippines is leading the competition with 25 gold, 15 silver, and 9 bronze medals.<\/p>\n

More than 1,000 Philippine athletes are competing in the SEA Games.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe congratulate our athletes who have won and brought honor to the country in this ongoing biennial multisport event,\u201d Panelo said in a statement.<\/p>\n

He also wished the rest of our athletes who will be competing in the coming days good luck.<\/p>\n

Panelo earlier praised the organizers, volunteers, and others who made a \u201cjob exceedingly done\u201d in organizing the formal launch of the SEA Games at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Despite early logistical troubles, Panelo stressed that the “superb” opening of the event merely proves that the Phisgoc is more than prepared in handling the biennial multisports event.<\/p>\n

The President attended the opening ceremonies to officially declare 2019 SEA Games open, marking the fourth time the country hosted the biennial meet. The Philippines also hosted in 1981, 1991, and 2005.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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