New POC chief to ensure SEAG hosting will push through

MANILA, Philippines – A day after Ricky Vargas stepped down as president of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), his successor Joey Romasanta on Wednesday vowed no second will be wasted in making sure that the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games will be back on track.

In fact, Romasanta has instructed former POC secretary general Steve Hontiveros to call for an emergency SEA Games Federation Council meeting to brief the 10 other member countries on the latest development in the Philippine preparations.

He said that they need to find a solution on how they can move on from this turn of events as the SEA Games preparation was greatly mismanaged due to a messy legal issue that entangled the earlier buildup.

It was because the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) Foundation, Inc., headed by Taguig Congressman-elect Alan Peter Cayetano, operates a team without board approval from the POC. This issue had led to Vargas’ resignation on Tuesday.

Although Cayetano was tasked to organize the country’s hosting of the SEA Games, his organizing body was supposed to function as a mere ad hoc committee under the POC, not as a foundation that possesses a legal personality to enter into contracts with sponsors and suppliers.

It was supposed to be called Phisgoc, not Phisgoc Foundation.

And since it operates without POC board approval, eight of the 13 board members strongly questioned its authority to run the SEA Games, including the creation of the SEA Games logo, SEA Games mascot and SEA Games hymn and motto.

There were also questions about the venues tapped by the Phisgoc Foundation as it decided to move some sports away from the main hub at the New Clark City in Tarlac.

The marketing campaign, transportation and volunteer program of the Phisgoc Foundation are also being probed.

But the biggest question on the Philippines status as officially ready for the SEA Games is the production of technical handbook to be followed by the participating countries.

The Phisgoc Foundation does not have it, putting national sports association officials and their foreign counterparts in the dark as to how the event will be ran.

NSA officials said they already submitted their technical guidelines as early as January.

Romasanta, however, said he would make sure that everything would be in order very soon.

“A lot of work still needs to be done,” said Romasanta, an old hand in Philippine sports being the chief of the successful Project: Gintong Alay during the administration of former President Corazon Aquino.

“We have to regroup and sync everything together not just on the part of the POC, but also on the part of the PSC (Philippine Sports Commission), the SEA Games Federation Council, and our national government. Everybody has to be aligned and be on the same page. We have to find a solution in every problem.”

One of the solutions being looked at is moving the SEA Games from November to the first quarter of next year.

The POC is also eyeing to reduce the number of events since hosting 56 sports would be very challenging, especially with only five months left to prepare.

“We are ready to pick up the pieces,” said Romasanta, adding that the emergency meeting would be held as soon as first POC general assembly is done on 25 June at the Government Service Insurance System gymnasium is done.

Romasanta already paid a courtesy call to PSC chairman William Butch Ramirez.

A prominent member of the POC board in lawyer Clint Aranas already phoned Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to apprise him on the sudden change of POC leadership.

 “We’re moving as fast as we can,” Romasanta said.