Meetings with key people at Malacañang this weekend hope to remedy the problem of the procurement of competition equipment for the staging of the 30th Southeast Asian Games, chief of mission Butch Ramirez, chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) said yesterday.
Ramirez said an estimated P600 million worth of equipment that will be used during the Nov. 30-Dec. 11 sportsfest in Metro Manila, New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, and main cities in Central and Southern Luzon, has yet to be approved for purchase.
So far, only 18 sports out of 61 requested for equipment procurement have been given the go-signal to proceed with the purchase and this is the concern Ramirez will try to address in the next couple of days.
“This is a concern of national interest,” said Ramirez after meeting with national sports associations at the Philippine International Convention Center.
There will be 56 sports amounting to 530 gold medals at stake during the biennial sportsfest and Ramirez said scrapping some of them is something that is not on the agenda.
“We will find ways,” said Ramirez, who has a scheduled dialogue with Execuitive Secretary Salvador Medialdea in the hopes of greasing the path towards the immediate purchase of competition equipment.
“On Monday, we will have a clearer picture,” he added.
The PSC, Philippine Olympic Committee and the Phisgoc have actually forged a tripartite agreement for the successful staging of the SEAG.
Under the agreement, the NSAs, with backing from the Phisgoc, are going to recommend to the POC the equipment requirement and costs but it will be the PSC, under Ramirez, which will release the money for purchase, guided by strict COA rules. (Nick Giongco)