Malacañang on Sunday apologized for the unintentional inconvenience suffered by athlete-guests from Timor-Leste, Myanmar and Cambodia following their arrival to the country for the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

In a statement, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, said they understand that the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) has already apologized to the athlete-guests from Timor-Leste, Myanmar and Cambodia for the inconvenience they experienced when they arrived in the country.

Panelo said incidents of delays in transport and checking-in at hotels happen in international events by reason of the number of countries and athletes involved and they can no longer undo what has been done.

“The Office of the President will not offer any excuses. As host country, we apologize for the unintentional inconvenience suffered by our athlete-guests,” Panelo said.

“What is more important and more pressing is Phisgoc has committed to do better in ensuring proper coordination from the arrival of the athletes to their transportation and hotel accommodations,” he added.

Panelo said despite the inconvenience suffered by some of foreign athletes, there were no report of any incident jeopardizing their safety and their health.

“We are not promising that the Games will run without a hitch, given the countless athletes who will participate and represent their respective countries, but we will exercise due diligence in making sure everyone will have a pleasant, productive and memorable stay in the Philippines,” Panelo said.

“We wish all the participating athletes good luck and look forward to their excellent and hopefully world record breaking performances!” he said. An estimated 9,840 athletes are expected to compete in the games with the main venues to be held at the Philippine Arena and New Clark

City Athletics Stadium.