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Friday, January 27, 2006
Cojuangco angry, withholds P2M for SEA Games bills
By Rene H. Martel
CEBU CITY -- Hotels the Cebu Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (CebuSOC) has yet to pay in full may be in for a long wait because of the quarrel between Jonathan Guardo and Philippine SOC (PhilSOC) chief executive officer Jose Cojuangco Jr.
Guardo, CebuSOC chairman, said it is now uncertain if PhilSOC will give the remaining P2 million of the funds it promised.
Guardo had been pressuring Cojuangco the past weeks to give the amount after the hotels threatened to sue them.
“I no longer know mo-remit pa ba sila kay sige lang og saad. Labi na karon nga nag-away ming Pepeng Cojuangco,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
Cojuangco allegedly got angry after Guardo and Bacolod City SOC officials kept on going to Manila to remind him of PhilSOC’s obligations to them.
Guardo said Cojuangco has to pay up if he wants him and his Bacolod counterparts to shut up.
Cebu hosted six events of the 23rd SEA Games last Nov. 25 to Dec. 25. Bacolod and Subic were other satellite venues of the biennial meet.
Guardo said PhilSOC has yet to pay them some P2 million, which will cover their balance for the accommodations of foreign athletes in at least three hotels.
CebuSOC still has to pay in full Golden Peak Hotel, Sarrosa Hotel and Cebu Grand Hotel.
Of the P19.8 million CebuSOC received from PhilSOC and the Philippine Sports Commission, CebuSOC vice chairman Cheryl Ouano said only around P832,000 remains unliquidated.
Guardo said PhilSOC is giving CebuSOC a hard time in liquidating the amount, demanding papers that may not be necessary at all.
In a separate interview, Ouano said they were told to submit the required papers and full liquidation of the released amount before the P2 million will be given to CebuSOC.
“It’s true, they’re making it difficult,” she said.
She said discussions about CebuSOC’s liquidation and financial woes may have to be set aside to give way to the preparations of the coming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in December.
“We have to move forward,” she said.
CebuSOC was applauded for the success hosting, but Guardo suddenly received some tongue-lashing from Mayor Tomas Osmeña, who accused the CebuSOC chairman of diverting at least P1.6 million Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) funds intended for grassroots sports for the Games.
Guardo, CCSC chairman at the time of the verbal attack, denied the allegation, which until now remained unfounded.
Although the City spent P3.2 million for the Games, Guardo did not handle a centavo of it.
The amount, which City councilors Sylvan Jakosalem and Jocelyn Pesquera already liquidated, was used for the accommodation of the Philippine delegation here.
The mayor demanded that Guardo give the City a copy of CebuSOC’s financial statement, saying the businessman and sports patron owe it to the Cebuanos and the sponsors.
But Guardo said Osmeña could get it from PhilSOC, saying the sour treatment he got could be due to his plan to run against Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south) in next year’s elections.
Cuenco is Osmeña’s political ally. (Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
(January 27, 2006 issue)
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