THE fate of the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games is expected to be known during an online meeting by the 11 national team chiefs of mission with organizers today, according to Commissioner Ramon Fernandez of the Philippine Sports Commission.
“We were supposed to have an actual meeting in Hanoi but because of the resurgence of the COVID-19 virus in the region, it was decided that this meeting be held online,” said Fernandez, the chief of mission of the national team to the Vietnam Games.
He added the online talks will start in the morning, which he said is timely because the PSC board led by Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez would have a meeting in the afternoon to discuss the bubble training of national athletes and coaches gearing up for the regional sportsfest.
The actual workouts were supposed to begin last week at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila and the Philsports Complex in Pasig City but was put on hold after Metro Manila was placed under Alert Level 3.
Fernandez said the national boxing and karate teams had been given the go-signal to train in a bubble at the PSC facility inside the Teachers Camp in Baguio City.
The Vietnam SEA Games were originally scheduled to be held in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi and neighboring areas in November last year but was postponed by organizers due to the rise of COVID-19 cases across the region in mid-2021.
There are speculations the sportsfest might ultimately be scrapped because Vietnam has been suffering a serious outbreak of cases nationwide that has been running into the thousands daily.
Should the meet push through, Fernandez said will have muay thai secretary general Pearl Managuelod and roller sports chief Carl Sambrano as his deputies, adding that Sambrano replaced obstacle sports head Atty. Al Agra, who resigned due to personal matter.
Fernandez said he would also talk to Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino regarding the funding requirements for both the Vietnam Games and Hangzhou Asian Games in September.
He said the Department of Budget and Management had allotted only P50 million to the national team’s participation in the Vietnam Games, which will be augmented by the P71 million left over from the P200 million budget released last year for the training of Hanoi-bound athletes.
Fernandez said this would be barely enough to support the over 1,000 athletes and officials who will take part in 39 of 40 disciplines in the regional meet scheduled May 12 to 23 in Hanoi and neighboring provinces.
With the short amount of training and the meet less than four months away, Tolentino acknowledged in a recent interview that Filipino campaigners will be pressed to defend the overall crown after garnering 149 gold, 117 silver and 121 bronze medals when the country hosted the event three years ago.
He conceded that Vietnam would likely exploit its hometown edge to wrest the title after loading the calendar with sports they are expected to dominate, leaving other countries to battle for runner-up honors.
