PSC Chairman William "Butch" Ramirez pressed the alarm.

With less than a year left, the country's preparation for the 30th Southeast Asian Games is entering its crucial stretch. But things are not rosy so far.

Actually, it was Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William "Butch" Ramirez who pressed the alarm, saying that until now - with only 11 months left before the Games - only 10 of the 56 participating national sports associations (NSA) managed to submit their requests for budget, equipment and other technical requirements.

Well, it's not the government's fault. The PSC had been asking the NSA to submit their respective requests as early as last September. It set a deadline of November, which is more than a year before the Games formally open on 30 November. There was no compliance. So, they moved the deadline to December. Again, same result.

Ramirez said what they have so far are the requests of 10 NSA amounting to more than P100 million, making it very difficult for them to procure the equipment, especially those coming from abroad, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Commission on Audit.

The Phisgoc organization is a mess. Normally, it takes two to three months for sports equipment to be procured. But they still have to be produced and delivered while some have to be tested to make sure they are durable and reliable for the tough grind in the biennial meet.

In the previous SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), headed by chief of mission Cynthia Carrion, failed to procure tracksuit and competition uniform for the 281 members of the national team. To make things work, the PSC gave them P10 million as payment to their preferred supplier on the condition that they will liquidate the amount properly.

The result was a disaster as some members of the POC executive council found some irregularities with the transaction. Carrion had a hard time paying the supplier and a special body had to be formed by the POC to untangle the mess.

That's why Ramirez is now raising the urgency and sent a letter to the POC to ask the 46 other NSA to submit their respective procurement requests.

But where is the delay coming from? We asked around and learned that the problem doesn't lie with either the NSA or the POC. It's with the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc), the body tasked to organize the country's hosting of the biennial meet.

According to a prominent NSA leader, the Phisgoc organization is a mess. He described the situation as chaotic with "too many cooks" running the show without proper coordination, especially with their partners in the NSA, POC and PSC.

Actually, the NSA already submitted their list of requirements to Phisgoc as early as December. But the organizing body failed to act on them until this week before Ramirez decided to go on record to formally expose the real picture of the country's SEA Games preparation.

The NSA leader added that one ranking Phisgoc executive even called him to proudly claim to have "started" reviewing documents like the technical handbook, sport requirement handbook, budget and equipment. It was a proof that they have just acted but belatedly.

We're seriously running out of time. We're already entering the crucial stretch and our sports officials have to grab the ball and dunk it home. Ramirez did his part. The NSA also already did theirs. The ball is now in Phisgoc's court. Again, time is running out.