THE alleged corruption in the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) is an outright propagation of lies and Phisgoc will continue to oversee the country’s hosting preparation for the regional biennial meet, said Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William Ramirez on Friday, July 19.
Phisgoc chairman Alan Peter Cayetano and Ramirez, in a meeting with Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, vehemently denied the corruption allegations that triggered President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to nix the Phisgoc.
"There is no truth to the allegation of corruption," Ramirez said in a statement, noting that all concerned units are now "united in one leadership."
"Yesterday, [Taguig City-Pateros Representative] Alan Peter Cayetano, and myself sat down with Senator Bong Go and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to sort out issues being reported by news outfits in the past days," he said.
This came just days after Malacañang confirmed that Duterte wanted to give the organizing responsibilities of the 2019 SEA Games to the government, as he accused the Phisgoc of corruption.
The Phisgoc has been on top of the preparations of the regional event slated November 30 to December 11, but reports of alleged corruption within the private organization recently surfaced.
Allegedly, Phisgoc is accused of entering into questionable deals, including the overpriced training uniforms from sports apparel company Asics.
On his part, Phisgoc executive director Ramon Suzara argued that a change in leadership will unduly affect the hosting preparations.
"We assure the athletes and the general public that all decisions and transactions will be done with utmost transparency," said Ramirez.
"The PSC, through the guidance of the Department of Budget Management and assistance of the Procurement Service shall work together to ensure that public funds are protected and that all disbursements or expenses follow existing government rules and laws," he added. (PR)