PSC worried: Why no task force till now?

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Sports Commission is calling for the creation of the SEA Games task force to address the needs of all national sports associations included in the calendar of events for the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

Once formed, the members of the task force, including representatives from the Philippine Olympic Committee, will sit down with the NSAs to discuss their needs for the Games which the country will host from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.

Each time the Philippines participates in international competitions like the SEA Games, Asian Games and Olympics, a task force is being formed months before the event.

But PSC chairman William Ramirez said the other day he’s quite surprised with the absence of the task force considering that as hosts, the country has more things to do and more requirements to meet.

“The instruction of the chairman (Ramirez) is to form the task force as soon as possible. But we need everybody’s cooperation,” said PSC deputy executive director Guillermo Iroy.

“We need the task force,” he said.

A total of 523 gold medals in a record number of 56 sports will be disputed in this SEA Games, and the earlier the task force is created the better it is for everybody.

“The PSC is still waiting for the final number of the delegation. There are other urgent matters, too, concerning the needed equipment of the NSAs although 80 percent of them have complied,” said Iroy.

“I heard that some NSAs are not even aware of all the events to be played in the SEA Games. All they know is that there are 523 gold medals at stake in 56 sports,” he added.