Political friction among three sports agencies — the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) — has been hurting the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games. In a radio interview, Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go admitted that he is aware of the cold relationship among the three bodies, who are in-charge of the country’s hosting of the prestigious biennial meet that is set to go full blast on Saturday at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan. Phisgoc has been drawing the heat. In fact, it was supposed to be a mere ad hoc body operating under the POC, a setup that is similar to the country’s previous hosting of the SEA Games in 2005. Former POC chief Jose “Peping” Cojuangco tapped House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano as Phisgoc chairman. But when Ricky Vargas took over the POC leadership in a court-ordered election in February last year, the ad hoc committee was transformed into a foundation, an independent body that aimed to organize the SEA Games and the country’s hosting of other international competitions. Cayetano was not part of Phisgoc Foundation, but four of his associates, including Phisgoc chief operating officer Ramon Suzara, were original incorporators. Majority of the POC executive council were not happy with this setup and demanded Vargas to explain, prompting the boxing chief to step down. Cycling chief Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino won the POC presidency, but Phisgoc and POC board members were still not seeing eye to eye as the Cayetano-led organizing body took over all the functions reserved for the SEA Games franchise-holder in the country — the POC. Phisgoc also has a frosty relationship with the PSC. Reports have it that PSC chairman William “Butch” Ramirez and Cayetano are not on the same page as the government sports agency was tasked to manage the P6.5 billion fund meant for the country’s hosting of the SEA Games. Ramirez maintained that they would comply with the accounting rules and practices of the Department of Budget and Management and the Commission on Audit that made it hard for Phisgoc to request for funding. Go said he is aware of this setup. “I knew it around two to three months ago,” said Go, the youthful lawmaker and an avid sports fan who chairs the Senate Committee on Sports. “You know what, this is all politics. There’s no unity. That’s why I’m asking everyone to unite for the sake of our SEA Games hosting and our athletes. We are the hosts. We can’t afford to fail.” Various concerns have been hampering the early stretch of the biennial meet. I know there’s a group that is not cooperative and wants our hosting to fail. Aside from the shabby treatment to football players from Myanmar, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Cambodia upon their arrival, there were also concerns about food after the Philippine women’s football team was served with rice, egg and kikiam, a street food that head coach Let Dizon claimed to have no nutritional value. The Thais and Singaporeans also ranted over food as Phisgoc failed to offer international and halal food to foreign delegates. Still, Go believes that the organizers can bounce back. “We can still do it,” said the neophyte lawmaker, adding that President Duterte is already aware of the situation. “The problem is we tend to do it our way. I know there’s a group that is not cooperative and wants our hosting to fail. That’s why I’m urging this group to unite for a common cause.” “The President doesn’t want us to blame each other. He wants us to work and unite. We only have five days left. Our goal is not just to win, but to show that the Filipinos have a big fighting heart.” Go is tipped to lead a Senate inquiry to look into the SEA Games mess as soon as the meet is over. The lawmaker said they will hold everybody accountable and nobody would be spared. “As chair of the Senate Committee on Sports and member of the Blue Ribbon, it is my mandate to look into this,” he said. “We’re ready to investigate in all of these blunders so it can be avoided in the future.”