Duterte hopes to shut up about SEA Games snafus while it’s ongoing

December 2, 2019

President Rodrigo Duterte wants his mouth shut about the snafus at the 30th Southeast Asian Games while it is ongoing.

In an interview by Unang Hirit last Friday but was aired over GMA-7 on Monday, Duterte said he was not sure if "mishaps" on the country's Southeast Asian Games hosting were really true. 

"I am not attributing it to anybody. But you know, it's huge funds and there ought not to have problems like even logistics and things. Because you can do it, not really with precision, but had you made most of the money then you could have avoided the critical situations, the mishaps that they were saying," he said.

"Actually, I'm not saying, I don't know if it's true. But it's not time to be talking about it because the Asia, the SEA Games is going on. And I hope this would be the last time that I'd be talking about it during the entire athletic meet. So it is not good preparations," Duterte said.

Duterte earlier said investigation would be conducted following the SEA Games hosting mess.

Prior to the official opening of the SEA Games on November 30 at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, some foreign athletes complained about the inconveniences they experienced such transportation, accommodation, and food.

Asked if anyone would be held responsible, Duterte said: "It's actually negligence or unforeseen events that you failed to prepare for."

Earlier, Duterte cleared House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and some other officials of Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee of any corruption even if investigation has yet to start. Celerina Monte/DMS