With the clash over cauldron heating up, senators are calling for a ceasefire to prevent national athletes from losing focus in their respective bids in the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Senators Sonny Angara, Pia Cayetano and Panfilo Lacson were smoking the peace pipe, saying that instead of mudslinging and bickering, ranking government officials should just turn their focus in supporting the national athletes in their quest for glory.

Angara, for one, asked his colleagues to halt their verbal jousts since negative remarks do not only distract the athletes in their training and preparation, but also paint an ugly picture of the Philippines as the host country.

The crucial stretch of the country’s preparation for the biennial meet has been action-packed.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon questioned House Speaker Alan Cayetano about the role of a purely private body — the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) — in the preparation for the SEA Games, where bulk of the budget comes from the national government.

Then, he questioned Cayetano, who is also the chairman of Phisgoc, about the giant cauldron that would be used in the opening ceremonies of the Games.

The cauldron costs P55 million, something which Drilon tagged as “extravagant” and unnecessary.

Former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino jumped in and agreed with Drilon, but the Taguig lawmaker fired back, saying that Aquino has no right to attack him since he also asked him to keep mum over the P10-billion budget used in the Asia Pacific Economic Summit in 2015.

Members of the Upper House said the bickering is getting out of hand.

“We will be hosting the Games and we should concentrate on that because our athletes will get distracted if there would be a lot of issues. We should let them focus on their respective competitions,” said Angara, the youthful lawmaker who sits in the executive board of Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.

Angara added that expenses that would be incurred in the Games should undergo thorough auditing to make sure that public fund was not misappropriated.

“It has to undergo auditing. All government expenses will undergo a cost audit as stressed by the Commission on Audit. That is their mandate — to check if the agencies spent the fund intended for a certain project properly,” said Angara, adding that Bases Conversion Development

Tolentino (2nd from right) at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.

Authority president Vince Dizon assured him that the massive New Clark City would generate income to finance its maintenance.

Also calling for truce was Pia Cayetano.

Pia defended her brother, saying that he assumed the role as Phisgoc chairman when he was still the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

She added that her brother broke the inter-chamber protocol by going to the Senate without an invite to “shed light on the credibility of the SEA Games preparation.”

“My brother, Alan Peter Cayetano, who is currently the Speaker of the House, took the job as chairman of the organizing committee of the Southeast Asian Games when he was still the DFA secretary. He did not have to, but he did it because he believed that our athletes should have a chance to shine in our own country in the SEA Games,” Pia said in a statement.

She said the New Clark City would be utilized even after the Games as there are plans to convert it into the Philippine High School for Sports, which is now being craf ted in Congress.

“Also, it bears pointing out that as a responsible member of the world community, we host and participate in many international events such as the

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hosting of the 2015 APEC and the ASEAN’s 50th anniversary in 2017,” she said. “Both initiatives cost billions of pesos, yet it was clear to us that there were tangible and intangible benefits that our country could derive

from such events.”

Even the organizers, their focus might be derailed in holding this event.

“The SEA Games will deliver as much and more. Fifty years hence, our athletes and young people will continue to enjoy these facilities.”

On the same note, Lacson stressed that SEA Games-related questions must be raised once the event comes to a close.

“There’s a time for that,” Lacson said.

“I would rather that we discuss that or even investigate after the Games because even the athletes might be affected and cannot keep their focus due to the wrong or right perception. Even the organizers, their focus might be derailed in holding this event.”

The Senate is expected to hold an inquiry right after the biennial meet.