RP may shorten SEAG amid financial woes

RP may shorten SEAG amid financial woes

Associated Press, Manila, Philippines

Next year's Southeast Asian Games could be shortened to help
ease the Philippines' financial burden, but the event is in no
danger of collapse, an official was quoted Wednesday as saying.

"Definitely, there's no cancellation," Roberto Pagdanganan,
chairman of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing
Committee, told the Manila Bulletin daily. "We have to trim down
everything, but doing it doesn't mean lowering the quality of the
games."

The Philippines is hosting the 11-nation games in 2005 amid
questions of whether the country's mounting debt and a ballooning
budget deficit may cripple government spending for an event
estimated to cost about 1 billion pesos (US$17.8 million; euro 14
million).

Pagdanganan said the financial plan is expected to be trimmed
and the games could be shortened from 10 to eight days.

Sports officials plan meetings next week to discuss shortening
the competition, which opens in November 2005, using fewer
venues, cutting the number of events and trimming the budget for
the opening ceremony by about half.

Sen. Companera Pia Cayetano, a former member of the national
volleyball team, expressed concern Tuesday that the 2005 budget
allocated only 30 million pesos (US$530,000; euro 435,000) for
the games.

"With barely a year before the SEA Games, our sports officials
should, once and for all, take a decisive stand on whether we can
successfully host the games," she said.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo earlier promised the games
would go ahead with government and private sector support.