The Southeast Asian Games Federation Council is closely monitoring the Philippine situation as the country's hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games has yet to go full blast due to lack of fund and bickering among top sports officials.

The Council, the powerful body that owns the biennial meet, is reportedly keeping tab on the country's preparation with merely eight months left before the opening ceremonies in November.

A *Daily Tribune* source, a senior sport official who is well connected in the international sports community, said if the Council decides the Philippines is no longer fit to host the Games, an emergency meeting will be called to determine which other countries are willing to host the biennial meet on very late notice.

Indonesia and Thailand have reportedly expressed desire to host the Games.

The Indonesians can host the events any time after refurbishing the massive Gelora Bung Karno Stadium when they successfully hosted the 18th Asian Games last year.

The Thais are also said to be serious in serving as hosts for the first time since 2007 as they have facilities, venues and the technical capacity to organize the SEA Games "even if the Games are held tomorrow."

The source said the Council will never run out of options.

"The only thing they are asking is that if ever we're going to withdraw, let's do it as soon as possible so it won't be unfair to whoever will replace us," said the source, adding that the Council is unhappy over the turn of events here.

"They are not happy, of course. First, we calendared 56 sports with a lot of new sports that didn't even become demonstration sports. Then, there are reports about the lack of fund and squabble among sports officials, particularly in the POC (Philippine Olympic Committee)."

This is not the first time for a country to back out of its hosting chore.

Brunei begged off from organizing this year's biennial meet due to lack of facilities and resources to host more than 10,000 athletes in this 11-nation sports conclave.

"But Brunei backed out in 2015, or four years before the opening ceremony," the source said. "In our case, we only have eight months left. I'm not sure what will happen."

POC executive council member Prospero Pichay floated the idea of a withdrawal following the failure to approve the P5-billion SEA Games budget.

Pichay, who also holds a sensitive position in the House of Representatives, said if the budget will not be approved by April, the country might as well withdraw from its SEA Games hosting as the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will have a tough time purchasing equipment in compliance with the procurement procedure of the Commission on Audit.

"If the budget will not be released by March, we will have difficulty with our hosting, but it's still doable provided that the SEA Games will be run by the right people," said Pichay, who is also the president of chess federation.

> *If the Council decides the Philippines is no longer fit to host the Games, an emergency meeting will be called to determine which other countries are willing to host the biennial meet on very late notice.*

"But if the budget will be released at the end of April, forget it."

Another roadblock is the legality of the existence of the chief organizer — the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee.

Pichay reiterated that the Phisgoc is not their creation as it is not empowered by a memorandum of agreement or a board resolution from the local Olympic council.

He said only POC president Rocky Vargas recognizes it but not the entire POC executive board.