OWING TO budget constraints, the Philippine sports officials might drop the original plan of holding the opening and closing ceremonies of the 23rd Southeast Asian Games at the Rizal Park.
A high-ranking official said "there have been talks involving Philsoc (Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee) officials" about the possibility of the mammoth ceremonies at the Rizal Memorial track and field oval.
"But nothing’s final at this time. I think they’re still going to meet to decide whether the opening (ceremonies) will be transferred," said the official.
The official said the Philsoc is "reviewing its finances" and by holding the opening at the oval, it’s going to save the cash-strapped organizers a lot of money.
While the official did not confirm that the opening and closing would require a budget of R45 million, he said that "by holding it at Rizal, it’s going to cut costs by half."
"If it’s going to stage there (Rizal), it will just cost between R15 million to R20 million. It’s going to save money (if it is held at Rizal) because you’d no longer need to build a makeshift stand for the audience unlike in Rizal na oras na pumasok ka, nandyan na agad."
It was Roberto Pagdanganan, who had been earlier tasked to run the affairs of the Philsoc as chairman, who came up with the idea that the opening ceremonies be staged at the Quirino Grandstand, a historic Manila landmark.
Pagdanganan remains a part of the Philsoc, but his powers have been clipped considerably and it’s vice chair Jose "Peping" Cojuangco, also president of the Philippine Olympic Committee, who now calls the shots.
Philsoc secretary general said whether it’s going to be Quirino Grandstand or Rizal Memorial will be known within the week.
"The concern is the size of the Rizal Memorial. Although the 1991 SEAG opening was staged there, now we have more people attending the games and that’s one of our worries," said Hontiveros.
According to Hontiveros, it’s almost certain the Rizal football stadium couldn’t accomodate all the people who may want to witness the opening and closing ceremonies in person.
But he said the officials are thinking of putting up a giant television screens outside the venue and disallow parking around the vicinity to allow people to witness the ceremonies.
