Wrong timing.
The Philippine Sports Commission’s decision to refurbish the athletes’ dormitories and training facilities at the Rizal Memorial Complex in Manila, the Philsports Arena in Pasig and the Teachers’ Camp in Baguio with less than a year left before the 30th Southeast Asian Games is wrong timing on the part of the agency as it has served as a major distraction in the preparations for the biennial meet the country is hosting on Nov. 31 to Dec. 10.
A national sports association source said the athletes are now living as bed spacers and not getting enough nutrition, while some “lucky” ones, such as a couple of Filipino-foreign athletes were able to rent a condo unit in Quezon City, although they are having a tough time going to their training site due to the expensive transportation cost and traffic.
“The SEA Games is just around the corner and we don’t need this kind of distraction at this point. Our goal is to win gold medals in the SEA Games and having our athletes staying as bed spacers and eating carinderia food won’t definitely help,” said the source. “It’s really tough.”
PSC deputy executive director Guillermo Iroy said the notice to refurbish the sports facilities was sent out as early as last year, giving the NSAs enough time to look for housing facilities.
“We talked to the NSAs last year for them to look for a condo or a house that they can use while our dormitories are still being refurbished,” Iroy said. “We don’t see any problem for as long as they send us the billing. Chairman (William “Butch” Ramirez) already set aside a budget for the rental.”
Iroy assured that the refurbishing will be over by March, just enough time for the athletes to prepare for the games.
But another NSA leader pointed out that they were not prepared as there was no consultation in the sports community before it was formally implemented last month. The official added that even though the PSC will reimburse their expenses, it still takes away the focus of the athletes from the task at hand—deliver decently in the games.
“No, it’s not all about the money,” said the official. “But we’re wondering why the PSC decided to renovate everything and pull our athletes out of their dormitories with the SEA Games drawing near? They should have done it last year or next year—not on a very busy SEA Games year.”