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Friday, December 02, 2005
Arroyo orders probe on SEA Games 'cheating'
MANILA -- With Philippine sports officials bristling from accusations of cheating, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered an investigation into questions raised by Thailand over the fairness of the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games being held here.
Arroyo said she was concerned over remarks made by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra expressing doubts over officiating in the biennial tournament, in which the Philippines is at the top of the medals tally, with 63 golds.
"I'm directing the officials of the games to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into this matter and submit a report within 24 hours," Arroyo said.
She also said that there must be a lack of bias in the competition among 11 Southeast Asian countries. "We must treasure the solidarity and friendship among the competitors and their respective nations."
The President's order came as General Charouck Arirachakaran, Thailand Olympic Committee secretary general, apologized and denied that Thai officials had any such complaint.
Chaiyapak Siriwat, vice president of the Thailand Sports Council, said he was surprised when informed about the issues and apologized to Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose Cojuangco and other members of the Southeast Asian Games Federation Council.
"The report was inappropriate and I feel sorry for this. In behalf of the Thailand Sports Council, I apologize for whatever inconvenience brought about by the senseless report," said Siriwat during the SEA Games Federation Council meeting at the Hyatt Hotel Thursday.
The newspaper report quoted Thaksin as saying that the officiating seemed unfair: "I often watched these games and kept thinking 'Why do results turn out to be that way?' I don't know what to say."
Thaksin said he might raise the issue on the sidelines of the December summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Malaysia.
The Thai official's comment has touched a raw nerve in Malacañang, but Press Secretary and presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye asked the public to leave former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano out of the SEA Games.
Bunye was reacting to a text message that has been going around that Garcillano came out in time to keep score during the sports competitions.
Garcillano, who was not seen in public for five months, and the President have been linked to electoral fraud in last year's elections, after alleged wiretapped conversations between the two surfaced. Both have denied fraud was committed in the polls.
In a separate interview, Philippine Olympic Committee chairman Robert Aventajado, a member of the SEA Games organizing committee, said that Philippine officials had not received any complaints from the head of the Thai delegation, or from any other mission chiefs.
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam are competing for 441 gold medals in 41 events being held in Manila, Cebu, Bacolod and Subic.
Cojunagco, in a two-page letter to President Arroyo dated December 1, said they immediately conducted an investigation upon learning of the Thai prime minister's alleged complaints.
He said all the events are officiated in a very transparent manner and that the referees, umpires, judges and other officials in charge of the games and events come from an international pool. It was also ensured that no official would officiate a game where his country is competing at that particular time.
In a separate letter to Arroyo, Cojuangco said the Philippines is ready to turn over the flag to Thailand, which will host the 24th SEA Games in 2007.
He said Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop will be arriving in Manila Saturday to receive the flag.
Liptapanlop will proceed to Bacolod City on December 4 to visit some of the Thai athletes and return to Manila on December 5 for the closing ceremonies. (Sunnex/AFP)
(December 2, 2005 issue)
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