Imee pushes probe on Sea Games blunders

Senator Imee Marcos said Senate sports committee chairman Bong Go must get to the bottom of the numerous foul-ups in hosting the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) that are embarrassing the Filipino people even before the biennial sports event has begun.

Marcos added that she backs Go’s promise to conduct a probe and that he would be the best person to do so, to prove that the government does not cover up anomalies committed by those close to the President.

“If Senator Go will really conduct an investigation, and I hope he does, he would prove that the government is not afraid to go up against President Duterte’s allies,” Marcos said.

House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, who chairs the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc), and Philippine Sports Committee chairman William Ramirez have come under fire for various logistical blunders exposed in mainstream and social media.

Team coaches and athletes from Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and even the Philippines’ women’s football team have complained about delayed transport and hotel accommodations, meals served in small portions and that lacked nutrition or that were not halal for Muslim athletes, and sports venues that have not been completely built days before the games begin Nov. 30.

“It’s just so sad that Alan himself as Phisgoc chair admitted to the blunders that occurred upon the arrival of athletes from various countries participating in the SEA Games,” Marcos said.

Complaints of nepotism and favoritism in national sports associations (NSAs) have also surfaced among bemedalled Filipino athletes in karate and skateboarding who were excluded from the list of SEAG participants.

Marcos said although it was premature to pin blame, the people are sure to demand a reckoning for the billions spent in hosting the SEA Games and that someone should be made accountable.