CHEF de Mission William Ramirez convened his deputies the other day to signal his intention to secure for Team Philippines the 30th Southeast Asian Games overall championship.
Ramirez, chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission, officially appointed former taekwondo champion Stephen Fernandez as his first assistant deputy during the meeting at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
“He [Fernandez] will be my first alternate when I am unable to attend to an official function,” Ramirez said.
Fernandez is one of six deputy chefs de mission. The others are PSC Commissioners Celia Kiram, Arnold Agustin, Charles Maxey and Ramon Fernandez, and Philippine Rugby Football Union Secretary-General Ada Milby.
“I am banking on the experience of the deputies to contribute positively on the delegation’s preparations,” Ramirez added.
Ramirez reminded the deputies of President Duterte’s instruction to ensure that the athletes are given the support they need and are shielded from issues hounding the sports community.
The deputies will handle specific clusters during the November 30 to December 1 Games. Milby and Agustin split the 19 sports in the Clark hub plus surfing in La Union, while Kiram will oversee the Subic Cluster which has 16 sports.
Maxey and Ramon Fernandez will cover Metro Manila and South Luzon sports.
They will attend the Second Chefs de Mission meeting with Ramirez on Thursday.