Philippines to send 584 athletes, 161 officials to Vietnam SEA Games

The Philippine delegation set to see action in the 2021 Vietnam Southeast Asian Games has been trimmed down to just 584 athletes, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) said on Thursday.

According to POC president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino, the sports body has originally pegged a 627-athlete contingent but stressed POC, along with Chef de Mission Ramon Fernandez and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) officials, have decided to make some adjustments due to budget constraints.

The new figures, Tolentino said, were arrived at during a meeting on Thursday.

“We understand the situation because of the budgetary constraint in the PSC, so we have to employ belt tightening measures as regards to officials and equipment,” Tolentino said in a statement.

Tolentino added that 80 athletes from various national sports associations (NSAs) are still on appeal for the delegation as they fall under the Group B category, which means that their mother federation will shoulder their expenses during the Games.

Tolentino also said that the PSC has yet to determine the exact budget for the biennial meet but Fernandez earlier announced that it would be roughly P200 million.

The athletes will leave for Hanoi in two batches, with the first group flying on May 6 while the other will leave on May 10, giving some individuals time to cast their votes in the May 9 elections.

"Filipino athletes will still be competing in all but one—xiangqi or Chinese chess—of the 40 sports in the Hanoi program.

They will be divided into four clusters–1A for Hanoi, 1B outskirts of Hanoi and 2A and 2B outside of Hanoi, including canoe-kayak and rowing in Hai Phong," the statement read.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News