THE country will field 905 athletes accompanied by 257 officials to the Cambodia 32nd Southeast Asian Games—a team Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino described as hard-fighting.
“All of our athletes will be competing in all the sports despite the odds,” said Tolentino, who, like his counterparts in the region, showed discomfort over Cambodia setting quotas mostly in combat sports to benefit its athletes.
The Philippines will be competing in all 38 sports in the Cambodia Games set from May 5 to 17 primarily in the capital Phnom Penh and in Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Kampot and Kep.
Tolentino, also the PhilCycling president and currently Tagaytay City mayor, made the announcement during the POC General Assembly on Thursday at the East Ocean Garden Restaurant in Pasay City.
“I am confident these are all fighting athletes,” said Tolentino, adding that an official Team Philippines is set April 15 at the Philippine International Convention Center.
Team Philippines to Cambodia exceeds the 656 athletes who competed in 38 sports in last year’s 31st SEA Games where the country finished fourth with 226—52 gold, 70 silver and 104 bronze—medals out of the possible 1,759.
The team to Cambodia also approximates the 2019 Philippine hosting where 1,119 Filipino athletes competed in the 56 sports.
The POC General Assembly, Tolentino said, unanimously approved the suspension of the Philippine Swimming Inc. (PSI) as a regular POC member.
There was no objection from the members.
PSI’s suspension was prompted by the World Aquatics’ suspension on the national federation which the POC Executive Board in turn offered to the General Assembly for a decision.
“The POC just followed the order of World Aquatics,” Tolentino said. “If the World Aquatics lifts the suspension, then we will lift the POC suspension.”
“We never wanted the suspension on the PSI but it’s the national sports association which created its own problem,” he added.
The World Aquatics has also ordered for an election of a new set of board members of the PSI and approved the composition of a POC Electoral Committee that will conduct and supervise the election process.