#SeaGamesfail2019 and #SeaGames2019fail – Instead of being a source of pride that will lead a

worldwide recognition to the country, the Philippines’ hosting the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games
has become one of the most criticized pretigious event ever hosted by the country.

The announcement of the Philippines hosting the prestigous sporting events have million of Filipinos
cheering for their nation. However these cheers quickly subsde as more details about the event started
to unveil. Starting with the logo introduced.

The logo, as explained by the SEA games committee in their facebook page was made of 11 rings to
represent the 11 participating countries in Southeast Asia, and when combined to form a shape of the
Philippines, “embodies ideas of unity and togetherness.”

However, people were quick to critize its design and was even branded as a “downgrade” compared to
previous SEA games logos.

The said logo together with the mascot called “Pami” and all the other marketing and advertising
intergrator costs an overflowing amount of P359 million.

Just a few weeks before the start of the international sporting event, things continued to go further
downhill when it was said that the given budget for the cauldron was P50 million.

The price of the controversial cauldron was defended by the President attributing its high price to the
fact that it was the creation of a National Artist for architecture, the late Francisco “Bobby” Mañosa.

Many Filipinos are calling out the alleged corruption behind the event’s preparations because of the
evident overpricing of budget allocated for the event.

Then there were these welcome signs for the foreign delegate athletes. Instead of being welcomed by
vibrant, lively and striking tarpaulins and banner, they were welcomed by poorly designed and not
thoroughly planned posters. There were also these controversial bond papers with the text, “welcome
delegates”.

A lot of countries worldwide also critized the game organizers when they fail to assist the arrival of
delegates from Timor-Leste, Myanmar, Colombia and Thailand.

Apparently the Timor-Leste team arrived in Manila at 5:00 am local time on November 23, 2019, then
were made to wait for their team bus. After roughly 3 hours of waiting their team bus has finally arrived,
but the mishaps didn’t stop there. The support staffs and athletes of Timor-Leste were also taken to the
wrong hotel.

The provided team buses also received a lot of criticism due to its size and the discomfort it caused to
the delegate athletes.

Another controversy that boils down the blood of Filipinos is the displacement of Aetas from their
ancestral lands for the construction of the New Clark City in Tarlac bordering Pampanga.

Apart from the issue of displacement, more alarmingly, the indegenous people were forced to give their
lands by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and their local government units.
Consequently, the Aetas have also been cramped into a smaller piece of land with less tillable soil as their
original land might as well be marked ‘forbidden’.
A lot of problems regarding the SEA Games 2019 also surfaced on different social media platforms from
the unfinished venues, claims of contractors not finishing some projects for the games due to non-
payments, poor treatment to delegates and local athletes and the giving of Kikiam, Egg and Rice as the
athletes breakfast.