The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) formalized its partnership with the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) for the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games in a signing ceremony held recently at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.
Pagcor Chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo and House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, who is concurrently the Phisgoc chief, sealed the deal in the presence of Senate Committee on Youth and Sports Chairman Bong Go and officials of the House of Representatives, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).
The signing ceremony was highlighted by the officials’ tour of the P13 billion sports hub, which boasts of a world-class aquatics center, a 20,000-seater athletics stadium and seven-building athlete’s village that will accommodate SEA Games delegates and volunteers from November 30 to December 11.
The sports complex was built within 18 months since it broke ground in January 2018 and will serve as one of the key venues of the much-awaited athletic event that will draw top competitors from the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Timor Leste, Singapore and Vietnam.
“Pagcor is very proud to be part of this gigantic international sports spectacle. We hope that through our partnership with Phisgoc, the Philippines’ hosting of the 30th SEA Games will be a huge success and our athletes will reap major honors for the country,” Domingo said.
Apart from committing as one of the major sponsors of the event, the state-run gaming firm had earlier granted a total of P842.5 million to the PSC for the rehabilitation of facilities that will be utilized for the Games like the Philsports Complex Multipurpose Arena, Rizal Memorial Track and Football Stadium and the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The said amount is separate from the monthly remittance of PAGCOR to the local sports governing agency. Pagcor is mandated by law to remit five percent of its income to the PSC to finance the country’s sports development programs.
The state-run gaming firm also funds the Sports Benefits and Incentives Act, which provides monetary rewards to athletes and coaches who win in international sports competitions. It is from these funds that recent champion athletes like gymnast Carlos Yulo and amateur boxer Nesthy Petecio are given cash prizes by the government sports agency.
Yulo made the country proud by being the first Filipino to ever win a gold medal in the 49th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. Petecio, meanwhile, ruled the World Women’s Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude, Russia.