Call for SEAG changes gains ground – Peping

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines’ call for changes regarding certain policies in the Southeast Asian Games are not falling on deaf ears.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose Cojuangco brought home the good news from Lausanne, Switzerland where he recently attended a meeting among ANOC (Association of National Olympic Committees) members.

Filipino sports officials have questioned the SEA Games rule on the selection of the calendar of events and how host countries tend to abuse their right to choose which events may be removed, included and played.

The 27th SEA Games is set in Myanmar in December, and the Philippines will perhaps suffer most with the hosts’ decision to include events hardly known to Filipinos and exclude events Filipinos are known to excel in.

Cojuangco is hoping that the changes are implemented in time for the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore.

“It seems that the secretary-general from Singapore agree to the changes in the system. Apparently, everybody whom I spoke to agree to this,” said Cojuangco yesterday.

Cojuangco is planning to host a separate meeting among SEA Games Federation members so they could further discuss the changes in the rules.

The POC chief said there must be a permanent list of events to be played in the SEA Games, particularly Olympic sports, and that there should be a limit to the gold medals offered in traditional or indigenous sports.

Cojuangco said the federation may consider putting up a separate medal tally for indigenous sports. In Myanmar in December, over 40 gold medals will be at stake in hardly known events like vovinam, kempo and chinlone.

The Philippines is looking at sending a token delegation to Myanmar. As it is, sports officials, including chef-de-mission Jeff Tamayo, are looking at less than 200 athletes, mostly individual athletes.

The Philippines sent 512 athletes to the 2011 SEA Games in Indonesia and brought home 36 gold, 56 silver and 77 bronze medals for sixth place, just a notch higher than Myanmar.

Cojuangco is satisfied that in recent stagings of the SEA Games, Filipinos have brought home the medals of any color.

“We have to maintain that record,” he said.