The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) said Tuesday it still owed P387 million to suppliers when it hosted the Southeast Asian Games in 2019.
During the commission’s hearing on its 2021 budget, PSC Executive Director Guillermo Iroy said they already asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the amount they are already receiving “too many” demand letters from various suppliers.
He added once the budget is released, PSC will then remit it to Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC), which signed the contracts with the suppliers. PSC is PHISGOC’s guarantor, Iroy said.
The PSC chief explained PHISGOC incurred such debts because the SEA Games budget was decreased from P7.5 billion to only P6.8 billion.
“The estimated budget of the organizing committee was really ₱7.5-billion for the hosting. But it was reduced to ₱5-billion and luckily the Office of the President released another ₱1-billion that’s ₱6.5-billion,” he said.
Also read: P55M cauldron for SEA games 2019 torch lighting ceremony questioned
PSC still owes P387-M to SEA Games suppliers
Senator Bong Go, the Senate committee on sports chairperson, also revealed that even the drivers hired to transport the staff and athletes are still unpaid.
“It’s been a year since the hosting of the Southeast Asian Games, and they still haven’t been paid,” the senator said.
Despite the unpaid dues of PSC, the senators still approved its ₱207-million proposed 2021 budget. Meanwhile, its additional ₱250-million separate budget request for national athletes’ expenses in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, 2021 SEA Games, and other tournaments are still pending for approval.
The 30th Southeast Asian Games, or 2019 SEA Games and commonly known as the Philippines 2019, was the 30th edition of the Southeast Asian Games, a biennial regional multi-sport event which was held in the Philippines from November 30 to December 11, 2019.
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, who headed the PHISGOC, faced several controversies during the SEA Games 2019, including the ₱50-million cauldron used during the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2019 SEA Games at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac and the alleged low-quality food for athletes such the controversial “kikiam.”