Grandiose monument it is, no doubt. "Imeldific," as one congressman aptly describes it, channeling the blemished edifice complex of Ms. Imelda Marcos.

The monument in question, of course, is the three-meter wide and 50-meter high Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) cauldron designed by the late National Artist Francisco "Bobby" Mañosa and built by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for a reported P50 million.

Standing at the entrance of the newly-built athletic stadium at the New Clark City in Tarlac, the cauldron, already branded by many as "kalderong ginto," is the centerpiece of the torch-lighting ceremony for the SEAG. And from pictures, the cauldron seems ready to be lit on 30 November.

A practical and awkward question is involved here, however. A waggish friend of mine points out that the SEAG opening ceremonies on the same day will be held in another province, at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.

If I've read right the plans, unlike the opening festivities of most major sporting events in the world where the torch is lighted and extinguished in the same sports stadium where the opening and closing ceremonies are held there seems to be two separate venues for the official ceremonies.

Grandiose we truly are. Magnificently unique at being impractical, obsessed with doing things the hard way particularly if there is so much money lying around.

Money, in fact, is what is at issue with the SEAG cauldron. Money is the root of Sen. Franklin Drilon's complaint if the cauldron's hefty P50 million price tag, sourced from taxpayer money, is appropriate or not.

Springing boldly to counter the scathing objections, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano says the cauldron "is cheaper than what was built by Singapore four years ago, (at) P63 million."

Isn't that grand? Unfortunately, I haven't fully convinced myself us poor Filipinos are now as rich as the very rich Singaporean. Or that we now have the nonchalance to burn precious money without worry and, you know, without much thinking.

Anyway, Cayetano has another tack. He says the cauldron is a work of art. "The cauldron is the symbol — it's not one of the symbols — it's the symbol of the games whether it's the Olympic Games or SEA Games and it's a work of art," he says. Right then and there is the distant echo of Ms. Marcos' "true and beautiful" mantra, the "Imeldific" way.

After aesthetics, Cayetano then waxes philosophical. "While some people may see a cauldron, we see a monument, we see the athletes, we see the burning flames that represent hope and the fighting spirit," he gushes.

But let us not wander too far. I just don't know if those splendid sentiments soaring in yonder blue empyrean is really all about the stout hearts of athletes or mere flourishes of a more mundane staple, rank political ambition.

In case you are wondering why Cayetano is upfront, here is he speaking not as the House leader but as chair of the privately formed Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) Foundation Inc.

Phisgoc is a private organization stuffed with government officials and was given more than a billion in government money. Its existence arched eyebrows. Cayetano boldly claims all is legal and whatever public monies there is he is confident will pass muster during official audit and scrutiny.

Formally recognized by the Chief Executive early this year, Mr. Duterte, however, later said government should handle preparations for the SEA Games because of alleged corruption in Phisgoc.

But apparently ruffled feathers were smoothed and Phisgoc went ahead. Nonetheless, amid the cauldron brouhaha, the Palace was quite clear Cayetano will be held accountable.

"Speaker Alan is accountable to all that relates to the SEA Games, *kung ano ang bulilyaso dun. Siyempre dahil siya nagpapatakbo nun, siyempre* accountable *siya* (whatever mishaps there will be. Of course, because he is the one on top of it, he is accountable for it)," bluntly says the Palace.

In a sense everything will fall on Cayetano's lap since if it wasn't for him the country wouldn't have hosted the games after Brunei, another well-off country, begged off hosting duties.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who was asked in 2017 by Mr. Duterte to head a multi-agency committee for the hosting of SEAG, is quite clear on this.

After scuttling hosting plans in the wake of the Marawi siege, Zubiri says hosting of the games was only revived when then Foreign Affairs secretary Cayetano asked him over dinner if he, Cayetano, could lead the move to have the SEAG in the country.

It is not quite clear why Cayetano allowed himself to carry such a burden. But I can surmise it may have to do with the prosaic intent of gaining political mileage from sports. I may be wrong, though.

At any rate, Cayetano's soaring sentiments is an ironic counterpoint to the earthy outburst from an athlete this week. "*Walang* budget! *Walang* budget! *Hindi na*-approve. *'Yan lagi naririnig ng mga atleta kapag nag*-request *ng* funds for training and exposure abroad. *Pero may* budget *ang gobyerno para sa* P50 million *na kaldero* (No budget! No budget! It wasn't approved. That's what athletes always hear when they request funds for training and exposure abroad. But the government has a budget for the P50 million caludron)," cried Gretchen Malalad, a 2005 SEA Games karate gold medalist.

Other athletes haven't candidly spoken as Manalad did, but her point is clear. Our national athletes still aren't relieved from stressful issues over government's lack of financial support, better equipment and sports facilities. All this in spite of the cauldron.

Cauldron or not, however, all of us cannot but stand proud of our athletes in the forthcoming games. Particularly since in this year they have proven they count as among the world's best in sporting events. In fact, if ever there is going to be a coming out party, it is going to be about our athletes' grit and wondrous feats and nobody else's.

But once our athletes move on and the stadiums are empty and the cauldron's fire is extinguished and there is a probable benign neglect of the new sports facilities as the PSC really doesn't have concrete plans about how to maintain them, the cauldron then becomes a stark symbol of something else — our sports officials' monument of folly, with Cayetano not escaping unscathed.

*Email: nevqjr@yahoo.com.ph*