Monitoring team formed to oversee SEAG money

Malacañang is making sure that government money won’t go to waste in the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

A monitoring team composed of top officials from the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), Office of the Executive Secretary, the office of Sen. Bong Go and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has been created to oversee the expected smooth preparations of the 11-nation Games.

“President Duterte is very conscious about our hosting. He wants everything to be in order and there must be no corruption,” PSC Chair Butch Ramirez told the Inquirer.

The group convened for the first time on Friday at  PSC boardroom inside Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and will tackle updates on the SEA Games hosting on a weekly basis, according to Assistant Secretary Joy Encabo of the PMS.

Encabo explained the monitoring team would provide a weekly briefer on SEA Games developments to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Sen. Go and the Office of the President for them to come up with solutions once problems and major concerns hound the preparations.

Ramirez said the group will monitor the entire situation, including the teamwork among the Philippine Olympic Committee, the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) and PSC for them to follow efficiently their division of labor.

With PSC funding the Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 Games to the tune of P6 billion, the role of the Phisgoc is to organize the hosting while the POC will focus on handling the technical aspect of the 57-sport event.