Support for the call of members of the executive board of the Philippine Olympic Committee seeking an audited financial statement on the expenditures made during the 30th Southeast Asian Games is gaining ground.
Former POC president Ricky Vargas said he will back up the execom when they hold an online meeting this Thursday.
The gathering will formally seek a resolution on the need to compel the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee to finalize its reports to the POC.
Members of the execom believe that a report from the PHISGOC, the lead agency formed to organize the biennial meet last year, is long overdue.
“I support the call to ask the PHISGOC, specifically Tats Suzara, to submit the financials,” said Vargas, who heads the Alliance of Boxing Associations in the Philippines.
Vargas said that a tripartite agreement that was forged last year calls for this, adding that such a covenant should be honored.
“It’s important and it’s for transparency and I support this call,” added Vargas.
For the last 10 months, PHISGOC has not complied with the tripartite agreement it made with the Philippine Sports Commission and the POC last year.
Officials from the Philippine Sports Commission clarified that P1.461 billion, and not P6 billion, was turned over to the PHISGOC before the Games.
With an audited disclosure, an accurate verification on how the money was spent can be done.
This cash figure was supposed to help organizers tackle their obligations during the Games held from Nov. 30 to Dec. 10 last year.
The execom is slated to formally make an inquiry with POC president Abraham Tolentino on this matter.
