THE Philippine SEA Games wrestling team. Photo from Alvin Aguilar's FB post

Alvin Aguilar, the president of the Wrestling Association of the Philippines and a member of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), on Tuesday lamented the “concerted effort” allegedly being exerted by some quarters to make the Philippines’ hosting of the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) fail by blowing out of proportion the problems that are routinely encountered by organizers of big international sporting competitions such as the SEAG.

In a Facebook post, Aguilar said the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) went all out in training all the athletes and that “around 80 percent of all of the athletes got the international training and exposure they needed. ”

“They are also given free food (not kikiam) which was according to their needed caloric intake. Anyone can go to the PSC Canteen to see all of the real nutritious food the athletes eat. The athletes also had their sleeping quarters refurbished, the medical equipment they use now is all brand new now, plus they get free laundry,” Aguilar said.

The PSC was never lacking in training and supporting the athletes for the SEA Games, he stressed, adding that “this is not the time to air any disagreements” involving sporting officials, including his own with the SEA Games organizers.

“The mishaps you read about do happen all the time. There was this one country i went to where the hotel room smelled literally like shit. I didn’t go all out and post about it. I also was in one country that did not serve water at all. Another didn’t even pick me up in the airport.”

Here follows the rest of Aguilar’s post:

“Now this is not to make excuses for them as this does need to be addressed but these things do happen. We don’t have the exclusivity of logistical screw-ups. Lastly the games have turned into the grandstanding of everyone with an agenda and worse a platform for political grandstanding.

“Regardless of what we think about who spent what where we should first be one in supporting the athletes. I know there is now a concerted effort to make the games look bad. There are some quarters that want it to fail. I just want to remind everyone that if you really care then help out.

“Posting bad shit on social media doesn’t help. Even if there are people or groups we don’t like or hate remember if the games fail it is a reflection on all of us. Just for the next few weeks I hope everyone realizes our national pride is at stake and goes all out to support everyone without highlighting the bad. We can always resume our utak-talangka ways afterwards.For now let’s all be one!”