Transportation, billeting nightmares at the SEA Games

PALEMBANG, Indonesia—The sudden rise in the composition of delegations from nearby countries has caught the organizers of the 26th Southeast Asian Games here off-guard.

The problem led to an acute shortage of transportation vehicles and billeting facilities in this city which is more than double the size of Quezon City and Makati combined.

In the meeting of the 11 chef de missions at the Aston Hotel here Thursday, transportation emerged as the primary concern with the lack of hotel rooms a close second just a day before the biennial meet formally opens at the Jakabaring Sports City.

Philippine delegation acting Chef de Mission Romeo Magat said Indonesian Olympic Committee chief Rita Subowo opened up the meeting with profuse apologies, promising to solve the problems which, nevertheless, has failed to dampen the spirits of around 6,000 visitors who flocked to this capital of South Sumatra.

Subowo cited in point the Vietnamese, who originally requested for 1,200 accreditations but wound up with 2,500 instead.

Even as delegates were coming in droves, the absence of shuttle buses and the lack of taxis have made it difficult to go around the sporting venues in this city of 1.6 million.

“Each delegation is requesting for more vehicles,” said Magat, noting that Philippine officials have just been allotted two cars instead of the promised five here.

According to Magat, he’d be happy with just two more.

A minor problem is the mess hall, which is functional though not yet fully operational.

The main press center, on the other hand, has very slow Wi-Fi connections with only a handful of computers for results.

Despite the organizational hassles, however, Magat remained optimistic that Filipinos entered in the main hub of the Games will perform well in the 29 events on tap.

Magat predicted a gold medal haul of between 30 to 35 here, citing athletics, billiards, boxing and chess as probable gold mines.

With the 20 hotels originally accredited fully booked, organizers have billeted delegates in smaller hotels, assigning liaisons in each one to assure the safety and convenience of the visitors.

While most of the athletes were confined at the Athletes Village, some competitors, like those in chess, boxing, billiards/snooker and contract bridge, have been booked in facilities near the competition venues.

According to Magat, he whisked off world champions Efren “Bata” Reyes, Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Dennis Orcollo to better hotels because of their stature.