Give and Go
Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Last Friday, the local sporting community was rocked by the news of the country withdrawing from hosting duties for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, the 30th edition of the biennial regional sporting meet.
In an announcement made by Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Butch Ramirez, the reason given for the Executive Branch’s decision to nix hosting chores is the ongoing crisis in Mindanao, particularly Marawi City where terrorists have wrought much damage and fear.
The government is said to be inclined to use the funds to be allotted for the SEA Games hosting for the rehabilitation and rebuilding of the Mindanao city instead.
Interestingly, the Philippines hosting the 30th SEA Games has the country pinch-hitting for Brunei after the latter backed out for “organizational reasons.”
But the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), the one of lead agencies in charge for the hosting of the SEA Games, is said to be not losing hope still that the national government under President Rodrigo R. Duterte would reconsider its position, convening the general assembly today and appeal to the President.
As expected the withdrawal news has many people giving their take on it, some agreeing to the move as only but fitting considering the ongoing situation in Mindanao while others expressed disappointment over what they perceive as giving up too early on the part of the government and/or “reneging” on a commitment that the country made internationally.
But regardless of where one stands on the issue, there is no denying that sports is an unfortunate casualty in this turn of events.
It is a pity that an event or a gathering like the SEA Games which champions camaraderie, human spirit and sportsmanship has to take a back seat for less noble circumstances.
Of course, this is not to say that the reason why the government is backing out is not valid, because it is very much.
No matter how we love sports and our athletes, in the overall scheme of things some priorities like the safety and well-being of a greater number of people always comes first.
Do I think the Philippines can pull off the hosting despite the Mindanao crisis? Yes, of course.
Talking to sports officials for an earlier piece on the 2019 SEA Games for this paper, I got the sense that the country is up to it. They said problems would persist along the way, even before the Marawi crisis came, but these were not insurmountable.
Add to this the fact that the Games is a good two years away and we may be sacrificing gains not only in sporting sense but outside of it as well.
At this point, whether we push through or not with the hosting duties, depending on the outcome of the POC general assembly today, it is important that all concerned sit down and come up with a collective stand on it so as to rid the country of could-have-beens and should-have-beens.
Postscript. As of this writing, while the Philippines has yet to formally informed the SEA Games Federation of its decision to back out from hosting, reports have it that Indonesia and Thailand have expressed willingness to take over.
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.
msmurillo@www.bworldonline.com
