A party-list congressman on Wednesday questioned the timing of Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon’s criticism on the construction of a P50-million South East Asian Games cauldron, even as he warned that the controversy may cause demoralization and create an atmosphere of discontent among Filipino athletes.
Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Mike Defensor, chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on public accounts, said any issue against the cauldron should have been raised after the SEA Games.
“That is bad timing, wrong for country and wrong for the athletes,” Defensor said at a news forum.
“If there is any issue, it should have been raised after the SEA Games because it will only cause demoralization to our athletes whom for sure have their own concerns during their trainings,” Defensor said.
As far as Defensor is concerned, the controversy hounding the P55-million stadium cauldron should be put to rest “for the greater good of the nation.”
He echoed an earlier statement of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano that the controversial cauldron is even cheaper compared to the P62 million cauldron of Singapore in 2015 and P85 million cauldron of Malaysia in 2017.
Earlier, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the cost of the cauldron could have gone to building 50 classrooms.
Meanwhile, following the call of Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go to rally behind Filipino athletes in the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, Sen. Imee Marcos said she hopes that the athletes would reap the most number of gold medals due to the huge expenses incurred for the country’s hosting of the said event.
When he defended the 2020 budget of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) at the Senate hearing, Go has called for unity for the success of the athletes.
“This should be the time for us, leaders of this country to unite with our fellow Filipinos and rally behind our athletes. While we are here
debating, we have athletes, trainers, game organizers, and thousands of volunteers sacrificing their time to bring glory to the Philippines. They are doing this for the country. There is a right time for everything,” he said.
The deliberations on the PSC budget has been prolonged due Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon questions on the preparations for the SEA games hosting which is also being handled in coordination with agencies and entities outside PSC, such as the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and even the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC).
Go, as Vice Chair of Senate Committee on Finance and sponsor of PSC’s budget, asked his colleagues to limit the discussion on the 2020 budget of the PSC.
The senator assured the public that he will not tolerate any form of corruption in the conduct of the SEA Games hosting.
Menwhile, Marcos said that with the big budget allotted by the government for the hosting of the biennial multi-sport event of 11 countries in the region, the organizers should ensure that Filipino athletes should not be left behind in terms of ranking.
Marcos said the funds allocated for the event to build a new facility at New Clark City, Pampanga reached P9.5 billion.
Marcos said SEA Games organizers should guarantee that Filipino athletes bag the number 1 spot with the most number of gold medals to compensate for the billions spent for the event.
“But I’m worried. We’re lucky if we can even get 5th place in the SEA games,” Marcos said.
Marcos also wanted to ensure that the equipment and facilities for use of the athletes are complete, as well as their food and vitamins.
She added that organizers and authorities should also ensure the security of thousands of participants joining the sports events.
