ASEAN Paragames officially cancelled due to COVID-19 crisis

The 10th ASEAN Paragames has been officially cancelled due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

A twin event of the Southeast Asian Games, the Paragames was supposed to be held in the Philippines in January. It was first postponed to March, and then later rescheduled to October 3 to 9.

The ASEAN Para Sports Federation (APSF) notified the Southeast Asian National Paralympic Committees of the cancellation through a letter dated May 8.

"APSF would like to thank the Philippines for all efforts taken prior to the games for the preparation. We appreciate why such decision need to be made," said APSF president Major General Osoth Bhavilai.

The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) withdrew the financial support to the hosting of the Games to reallocate the funds to address the COVID-19 crisis in the country.

The commission decided to cancel all sporting events in the Philippines until December, following directives from the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Several sports venues such as the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila, the Athletes’ Village in New Clark City, Capas, Tarlac, the Philippine Sports Arena in Pasig City and the Philippine Arena in Bulacan have been converted into COVID-19 quarantine facilities.

As of Sunday, the Philippines has 10,794 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 719 fatalities and 1,924 recoveries. —Ma. Angelica Garcia/MGP, GMA News