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Tuesday, December 13, 2005
SEA Games organizer faces P35M unpaid obligations
By Erwin Ambo S. Delilan
* Despite these problems, Rep. Monico Puentevella says he is now "ready to go to heaven"
* Basoc will also have to pay about P12 million to several hotels in the city that billeted the various foreign delegates
ASIDE from the pressure to produce within this month its liquidation report on the 23rd Southeast Asian Games, the Bacolod Sea Games Organizing Committee (Basoc) is facing another headache.
This is the more or less P35 million of unpaid obligations.
Despite these problems, Representative Monico Puentevella of the lone district of Bacolod said he is now "ready to go to heaven."
Puentevella is the co-chair of Basoc and an officer of the Philippine Sea Games Organizing Committee (Philsoc).
In an interview with Sun.Star Monday, Basoc Secretary General Eric Loretizo said they still have to pay P20 million to Dynamic Builders, the contractor that undertook the rehabilitation of the Paglaum Sports Complex.
Basoc will also have to pay about P12 million to several hotels in the city that billeted the various foreign delegates.
The SEA Games volunteers, liaison officers and even the victory stewards also have yet to receive their honoraria in full, amounting to P2 million.
But Loretizo clarified that the honoraria are not Basoc liabilities but that of PhilSoc.
He said of the P2.8 million promised allowance at P200 per day for the volunteers, only P200,000 was forwarded to Basoc.
So Basoc had to shell out almost P1 million just to compensate the 1,300 volunteers, 100 liaison officers and 28 victory stewards.
He said all they can do now is submit the necessary requirements to PhilSoc for them to be repaid.
"It is sad to note that (at) every end of day, Basoc is the one being blamed, criticized and even lambasted," he said.
Still, he assured everyone that Basoc will not run away from these responsibilities.
In an interview over radio Super Radyo over the weekend, Puentevella said after the successful SEA Games in Bacolod, he is now "one of the happiest persons in the world."
"God can take me now to heaven," said the solon.
Loretizo also hailed the congressman.
"It is very unfair to accuse Basoc, especially Puentevella...despite everything he did in bringing the SEA Games in Bacolod," he said.
He admitted though that Basoc still has to pay a lot of people.
On the Paglaum rehabilitation, Loretizo stressed that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is to be held responsible.
This was after DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane promised to shell out P20 million for the rehabilitation.
"We are only lucky that Dynamic Builders of the Yansons pursued the rehabilitation work (even if there is no cash involved yet)," Loretizo said.
But he is optimistic that DPWH will release the money as soon as possible.
As to the unpaid hotels, the Basoc secretary-general said, "We've already submitted all the printout of the billings to PhilSoc in Manila. We are now waiting for the release of payments."
Besides, he said it's not only Bacolod but also the hotels in Cebu City and Manila that were not paid in full yet.
In Bacolod, the hotels that still need to be paid in full are the Sugarland Hotel, Casino Filipino Hotel, Circle Inn Pension, Grand Regal Hotel, Check Inn Pension, Prominence Inn, Business Inn, Bacolod Convention Hotel and L'Fisher Hotel.
Loretizo said as of Monday, Philsoc still hasn't fully paid the hotels.
This, despite reports that foreign delegates already paid Philsoc for their hotel accommodations prior to their arrival in the country.
Meanwhile, Loretizo denied reports that he has left for Singapore or Thailand to escape his responsibilities and liabilities.
"No truth. Unfair. Funny," Loretizo said when asked to comment on the reports. He said he won't abandon Bacolod, stressing that he really wants to serve his city with all his heart.
He said what is important for him right now is that Bacolod was dubbed as the real "gold medalist" among the SEA Games satellite venues in the country.
(December 13, 2005 issue)
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