DAVAO CITY — Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William Ramirez on Thursday said the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) is the overall chair of the upcoming 30th Sports competition. .
Ramirez assumes that the PHISGOC, headed by House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano can liquidate the funds issued to them for the 30th South East Asian Games.
The PSC according to Ramirez , is focused on the athletes training, exposures and facilities, “The government is spending multi-million pesos for the athletes, the P50-million cauldron can be best addressed by PHISGOC,” he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte during the Tuesday night press conference defended the budget for the cauldron “You know, there can never be corruption in that situation because you commissioned a national artist,” Duterte said.
Duterte stressed “You cannot estimate how much nalugi ka because it’s the rendition of the mind of the creator. Kung ‘yan singil niya sabihin niya ‘wag mo bilhin kung ayaw mo. ‘Yan ang presyo ko.”
With Cayetano as Speaker, the House of Representatives earlier approved P6-billion for the country’s hosting of the 30th South East Asian Games (SEA-Games) 2019.
Of the P6-billion fund, Phisgoc got the 70-percent, while the Philippine Olympic Commission (POC) has been tasked to procure equipment relative to the hosting.
The issue concerning the expenses of the SEA Games and the cauldron cropped up during the Senate investigation which was questioned by Senator Franklin Drilon.
Meanwhile, Ramirez said he respects the sentiment of former South East Asian (SEA) Games Karatedo gold medalist Gretchen Malalad, who in her twitter account said the government is more keen on spending a multi-million pesos Cauldron than the athletes.
“I respect Gretchen Malalad, she is a friend. The Philippine Sports Commission is targeting SEA Games up to Olympics and we already spent more than P1 billion for the athletes,” he said.
The cauldron issue, according to Ramirez can be best addressed by PHISGOC from bidding to procurement.
“We are more focused on the athletes and the sports development and facilities while the Phisgoc is taking care of the preparation,” he added.
He also announced that the PSC has increased meal allowance of every athlete has also increased to P25, 000 from P5,000 from the past administration.-Armando B. Fenequito Jr.
