We gripe as one, we fail as one

“We’re pretty sure all this negativity will die down once athletes and officials parade before an enthusiastic audience and fireworks celebrating the occasion begin.

It all started with the logo, and to this day remains unabated.

We’re referring to the negativity that has surrounded the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, which opens tomorrow at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.

The much-maligned circles representing the 11 countries participating the SEA Games apparently did not sit well to many when organizing committee chairman Alan Peter Cayetano presented it in August last year.

Netizens expressed their disappointment and went on to conceptualize their own version including a socio-political one and another that featured an eagle with the colors of the Philippine flag.

Despite the disdain, organizers went on with the initially proposed design, triggering more bashing. Even the event’s mascot, “Pami,” in which conjoined balls of different colors were created to form a stuffed figure with a smiling face, did not escape criticism. There were claims that other more appropriate symbols could have been used, such as the tarsier or the tamaraw.

Cayetano defended the logo of circles by saying that it symbolizes the coming together of 11 countries participating in the SEA Games. “It symbolizes that wherever and whenever the games are played, we are one and we win as one,” he said.

Over a year since that initial hullabaloo, Cayetano finds himself parrying more criticisms. This time, it’s not just the logo. It’s not just the mascot. It’s about the hosting itself.

Long waits, poor organization and incomplete facilities were among the complaints received from foreign delegations in the run up to the games. While the brouhaha generated by the P55 million cauldron was still raging, politicians resorted to a bout of finger-pointing.

That the organizers were not ready for such a giant undertaking was all too evident from crudely written signs to poorly organized accommodation and strained logistics according to several reports.

We could go on and on and cite all the snafus but it would be pointless at this point. Suffice it to say that the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee has already apologized for all the inconveniences and have vowed to do better.

They have also refuted some claims which turned out to be fake news, including the all-too funny kikiam claims anent the meals served to athletes. It turns out that it was actually chicken sausage served by the hotel chef.

From the looks of it, the whole thing, according to jaded observers, seems to be orchestrated. By who, we don’t know.

What is important at this stage on the eve of the region’s greatest show is to band together and ensure the successful staging of the games. After all, we are all in this together. We’ve done it before in 1981, 1991 and 2005.

We did it in those years, competition and hosting-wise. We came out third overall in 1981, missed the championship by a mere gold to Indonesia in 1991 and eventually snatched the overall title in 2005.

Having watched the biennial conclave all these years, we’re pretty sure all this negativity will die down once athletes and officials parade before an enthusiastic audience and fireworks celebrating the occasion begin.

This is our show. Let us not allow unscrupulous elements to steal it from us. We have a lot at stake here. It’s not a Duterte undertaking nor one party’s show. We gripe as one, we fail as one.