Preparations for the country's hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games are hardly moving with barely eight months left before the opening ceremonies.

Some quarters say the setback was brought by the untimely leadership change in the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). Others claim it was due to the national government's failure to approve and release the proposed SEA Games budget on time.

Even the government guarantee took some time before it was released and it was just in a form of a memorandum circular — not through an executive order similar to former President Arroyo's during the country's previous hosting of the biennial meet in 2005.

**Shortly upon his return, Cayetano immediately assembled the Phisgoc and kicked off the SEA Games preparation.**

But this tight situation was caused by the undefined roles and blurred lines separating the three major bodies tasked to hold hand in making sure the regional sportsfest will be a success — the POC, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc).

### Simple structure

When the POC was awarded the hosting during the staging of the 28th SEA Games in Singapore in 2015, the first major order of business by POC president Jose "Peping" Cojuangco was an audience with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, who had just assumed his post following the victory of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Medialdea tapped Sen. Miguel Zubiri to help, serving as the overall chairman in a SEA Games body that will be composed of Cojuangco and PSC chairman William "Butch" Ramirez.

"The structure before was simple: The POC will run the SEA Games while the PSC will fund it. No government fund will pass through the hands of the POC nor any organizing committee," said a senior POC official, who attended the first few meetings of the three-man panel.

"We learned our lesson from the previous SEA Games. We had only P500 million, but P27 million got disallowed. We didn't want it to happen again, so we made it clear that the POC will not touch any government money and will just focus on the training of athletes and organization of the event."

But the initial agreement was not to happen.

A terror siege erupted in Marawi City, prompting President Duterte to come up with a memorandum diverting all government resources to the rehabilitation effort. Like a loyal soldier, Ramirez followed the President's order and declared that the country will be pulling out of the hosting chore.

A few weeks later, Zubiri stepped down and Thailand floated willingness to host. The Thais even went to the extent of claiming that can host "even if the SEA Games are held tomorrow."

Just like that, the country's hosting was officially dead.

### Revival

But former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano came in to save the hosting.

His arrival in the SEA Games picture came at a perfect time. It was when the SEA Games Federation Council was already asking if the country will still push through with the hosting and Cojuangco was looking for one to fill the huge void left by Zubiri.

Cayetano, whose only involvement in sports as patron of the Philippine women's volleyball team, was suddenly thrown into the limelight and received the SEA Games flag from outgoing SEA Games Federation Council president Tunku Imran during the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in 2017.

Shortly upon his return, Cayetano immediately assembled the Phisgoc and kicked off the SEA Games preparation at the same time when the Bases Conversions Development Authority was starting to build a multibillion-peso stadium to serve as hub of the Games in Capas, Tarlac.

### Setbacks

But stability in the country's SEA Games hosting didn't last long.

In February of 2018, Cojuangco booted out of power after the Pasig Regional Trial Court recalled the 2016 POC elections. Boxing chief Ricky Vargas prevailed in the court-ordered polls and declared readiness to lead the country's SEA Games hosting.

Vargas' honeymoon period as new POC boss, however, wasn't sweet.

POC executive council members, most of them aligned with Cojuangco, accused Vargas and his men of acting on their own on SEA Games-related matters. They stressed that most of his decisions regarding the biennial meet did not have board approval and they were being left in the dark about the preparations.

**My boss here is the President. If they can't do anything about it, then we will take charge because I am under the instruction of the President and the Executive Secretary.**

Then Cayetano stepped down as secretary of the DFA to chase a congressional seat in Taguig City.

With Cayetano, also a former senator, giving up his government position, he made himself no longer qualified to receive government fund, prompting the bicameral conference committee to lodge his proposed SEA Games budget from the DFA to the PSC.

The budget was also slashed from P7.5 billion to only P5 billion, a 33-percent reduction that would definitely have an impact on the success of what is billed as the "biggest, most extravagant SEA Games ever."

Few weeks later, the Commission on Audit sent the PSC a notice inquiring if there was a memorandum of agreement or a board resolution from the POC appointing Phisgoc as the chief organizer of the SEA Games. The state-run auditing firm said this MoA or BR will serve as the basis for the PSC to disburse money to a private entity such as Phisgoc.

There was none.

With Phisgoc having no money, no power and no legal personality while bickering and unrest cloud over the POC, the country's hosting of the SEA Games is on the brink.

### Undefined roles

Phisgoc is now calling the shots in other SEA games-related matters such as broadcasting, transportation, marketing, security and official outfitter of the athletes, officials and thousands of SEA Games volunteers.

POC executive council member Prospero Pichay said everything Phisgoc is doing should pass through the POC executive council.

"As far as the POC is concerned, we have not recognized it (Phisgoc)," said Pichay, president of the chess association and top supporter of Cojuangco.

"It is not authorized to enter into contracts that has anything to do with the SEA Games."

Pichay added that Vargas carries only a single vote in the POC board so his decisions that favor Phisgoc doesn't reflect the stand of the entire POC executive board.

"There is also no resolution that the president of the POC will be part of Phisgoc. In other words, he's there in Phisgoc, he's there in his personal capacity, not as president of POC," Pichay said.

"Because in anything the POC president does, there should always be a board resolution."

The confusion isn't limited to POC and Phisgoc alone.

In his rabid desire to win the overall title, Ramirez stated he will spearhead the creation of a SEA Games task force that will screen the qualification of SEA Games-bound athletes and start drumming up the preparations for the Games.

He also lit a fire from under chief of mission Monsour del Rosario, saying that if he takes his sweet time, the PSC will definitely take over.

"Give me a week or two. If nothing happens, we will start drafting our own SEA Games activities," Ramirez said.

"My boss here is the President. If they can't do anything about it, then we will take charge because I am under the instruction of the President and the Executive Secretary."

The hosting of the SEA Games — the event that's supposed to unite a heavily fractured country — is in danger of a great collapse.

And we only have eight months to save the Games.