FILE –Athletes at the 30th Southeast Asian Games closing ceremony. INQUIRER PHOTO/MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines will send a delegation of 584 athletes, while 80 others are on the appeals’ list, to the 2021 Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi in May.
There will also be 161 officials who will accompany the athletes to regional meet.
Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Chef de Mission Ramon Fernandez and Philippine Sports Commission officials met on Thursday to discuss the country’s delegation to Vietnam.
“We understand the situation because of the budgetary constraint in the PSC, so we have to employ belt tightening measures as regards to officials and equipment,” said Tolentino.
The POC originally set a 627-athlete delegation for the SEA Games but 80 of those sportsmen belong to national sports associations under the Group B category– which mean that their governing bodies will shoulder their expenses.
While Fernandez earlier announced that a budget of P200 million could be set up for the delegation’s budget, an exact figure has yet to be determined.
The delegation will fly in two clusters, the first on May 6 and the next one on May 10, to allow those in the second batch to still vote for the coming May 9 National Elections. Absentee voting is not allowed for athletes.
The Hanoi SEA Games will start on May 12 and end on May 25.