SEAG cauldron paid twice, NBI finds

The cauldron used during the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games isn’t just overpriced.

It was also paid for twice.

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Melvin Matibag said two additional witnesses had provided testimonies and documents that strengthened the investigation into alleged irregularities involving the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc).

Matibag said investigators were still verifying the transaction details but noted that the cauldron was overpriced, costing P55 million instead of its estimated P30 million.

He added that the payment for the controversial cauldron, which now sits idly at the heart of the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, appears to have been paid for twice.

“Apparently, the cauldron was not only overpriced but also paid for twice,” Matibag said, citing an entry in an undisclosed document that supposedly showed the transaction had been made twice.

The NBI chief said investigators had initially planned to file cases this week.

However, new evidence prompted them to conduct further verification and cross-check it against documents gathered earlier.

The cauldron was just one of the irregularities reported during the country’s hosting of the prestigious regional meet seven years ago.

During the Games, foreign delegates complained of shabby treatment. Members of the Cambodian football team reportedly slept on hotel floors while waiting for their rooms, while other athletes arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to find a welcome message written on a piece of bond paper.

Even the national team was not spared. Women’s football coach Let Dimzon complained about being served kikiam, rice and egg for breakfast, although she later clarified that the team was served “chicken sausage.”

Photos of an unfinished press center and conference room, as well as two toilet bowls in a single unpartitioned cubicle, also went viral, drawing ridicule and embarrassing the government, which reportedly spent at least P7.5 billion for the Games.

Aside from the food, photos of an unfinished press center and conference room also circulated on social media, along with images of two toilet bowls inside a single, unpartitioned cubicle. The scenes drew laughter from netizens and embarrassed the national government, which reportedly spent at least P7.5 billion for the Games.

The buildup to the Games raised several red flags. In its 2019 report, the Commission on Audit (CoA) found a major irregularity in the construction of New Clark City as the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) gave “undue advantage” to the private contractor, MTD Capital Berhad (MTD).

The state auditing firm reported that the BCDA negotiated the P8.510-billion contract to the Malaysian-based MTD through an unsolicited proposal rather than competitive bidding.

The CoA report said the unsolicited proposal had a total project cost of P121.785 billion, with the BCDA contributing land valued at a 100-percent premium. After negotiations, however, the parties revised the proposal, focusing it on the construction of SEA Games sports facilities at a total project cost of P8.510 billion.

The CoA pointed out that because the BCDA initiated and conceptualized the project under its Master Development Plan, the construction of the sports facilities should have followed the procedures for solicited proposals under RA 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act, or RA 6957, as amended by RA 7718.

At the time, BCDA president and CEO Vince Dizon — now the Public Works and Highways secretary — had served as a consultant to Senator Alan Peter Cayetano when the latter was Senate minority leader from 2013 to 2016.

Matibag also said Phisgoc projects are under scrutiny because the organizing committee received funding from the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

The NBI is also looking into Phisgoc’s role in the alleged anomalies and its ties to Cayetano, whom then-President Rodrigo Duterte designated as the committee’s chairman.

Matibag, however, said investigators are having difficulty directly linking Cayetano to the alleged irregularities because his name does not appear in relevant documents in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“There was an instruction to establish and incorporate Phisgoc and register it with the SEC. When it was registered, the Board of Trustees were listed, and he was not among them,” Matibag said.

“So he could not be the chairman because he was not a member of the corporation, but he acted as chairman,” he added.

Matibag said Cayetano’s actions could nevertheless constitute usurpation of function, while witnesses testified that he at times directed where funds should be allocated.