Full throttle

Unknown to most of the general public, the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PhilSOC), spearheaded by the Philippine Olympic Committee, is now functioning at full speed with less than a year before the formal opening of the Games. With the rollercoaster on-again, off-again hosting issues a thing of the past, the hard work now begins. So much spadework, so little time.

The POC officers and staff were working until at least 1 a.m. Thursday in preparation for their General Assembly that morning. Smiling despite their uniform eye bags, all were in high spirits as the meeting thoroughly covered all the activities of the POC, its member national sports associations, and their athletes. POC management had resolved the issue of unliquidated Olympic Solidarity funds, ensuring that athletes and scholars would continue to benefit. In the afternoon, the team split up to cover several bases, among them the arrival of delegates for the SEA Games Federation meeting Friday, the second of only three in preparation for the 30th SEA Games. The final roster of sports was on a long agenda for Friday’s meeting. At last count, 58 sports had been approved, including over 500 events. 

“This will be the largest SEA Games,” says POC deputy secretary-general Karen Tanchanco-Caballero. “Everything has to go through the SEA Games Federation, and we are making sure everything is in place.”

The four new sports welcomed into the POC Thursday will likely not be part of the SEA Games, unless any number of them are able to successfully lobby to be included as demonstration sports. They will not, in that case, count in the medal standings. And with the formal expulsion of Arnis Philippines, this will be the first time that the country’s national sport will not be included in the biennial event. Arnis was formally recognized as the Philippines’ national sport and martial art by law in 2010. Also on Friday, the Philippine Sports Commission, led by chairman Butch Ramirez, inspected the new national sports complex being constructed in Tarlac, at the end of the former Clark military base.

This week, the POC’s top leadership will fly to Tokyo for the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). Even with the heavy workload for the SEA Games, they still have to look ahead to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Reports have to be prepared, and the thoroughness and detail of the paperwork rivals the actual work itself.

“There is really a lot of work to be done,” explains POC general manager Art Aro. “Everyone has their duties. This is where we put our passion into action.”

After the ANOC conference comes the official countdown to the 2019 SEA Games. This signals the further acceleration of work. The POC has already hired additional personnel to help with the workload. The army of volunteers for the Games will be handled by former Ateneo Blue Eagle Wesley Gonzales. They will be the frontliners who will have direct contact with the public and foreign media, sports officials, dignitaries and athletes. No pressure.

If it seems like everything is in a mad rush, it is because it is. The Philippines was initially not meant to host the games until about 2025. The previous POC dispensation maneuvered to host the Games after Brunei backed out, and in spite of the Philippine government’s initial announcement that it would reallocate the funds for the Games to the rehabilitation of Marawi. Then there was the POC recall election in February. Since the president of the host country’s National Olympic Committee is the de facto head of the SEA Games Federation, nothing could move until the POC leadership could definitively be settled. Thus, the PhilSOC will have roughly a year and a half, when it should have more than two years. But since it is the institution and the country, not just one person, who was committed to hosting, here we are.

But here is the secret. The success of the SEA Games boils down to the experience people will have. If visitors have a safe, comfortable, exciting, enjoyable time, that is what they will carry with them when they leave. If Filipinos are hospitable, polite, helpful and fair and the conduct of the games is just, then that is what the international media will report to the world. If Filipinos show their true heart as the warmest, most loving people on the planet, there will be nothing to worry about.

In short, it’s not just up to PhilSOC, the POC, PSC, NSAs and volunteers. It’s up to us. All of us. That’s why the motto of the 30th SEA Games is “We win as one.”