MANILA, Philippines — Despite controversies surrounding the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, the president of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) said Wednesday that it also plans to have the Asian Games hosted in the country.

“Kasama po ‘yan. Magbabakasakali (That’s included. We will try),” Cavite 8th District Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, POC president, said in an interview with Radyo Inquirer, when asked if the committee also plans to have the Asian Games held in the Philippines now that the country has built facilities for the SEA Games.

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Tolentino also said he is puzzled why some individuals have been supposedly exaggerating mishaps in the hosting of the regional multi-sports event set to open on November 30 and end on December 11 and will be held across different venues in Luzon.

“Nakakapagtaka po na lahat po ng maliliit ngayon, kahit na konti [ay] pinalalaki imbes po na tayo ay magtulung-tulungan muna para sa ating atleta at para sa ating bansa,” he said.

(It’s puzzling why some are making small issues big, instead of cooperating for the sake of our athletes and our country.)

He added that glitches experienced by athletes, ranging from transportation, accommodation, food quality, and food supplies to unfitted facilities, are only normal in hosting the biennial meet.

These issues, said Tolentino, have already been addressed.

Tolentino also hailed the country for hosting this year’s SEA Games with the “historical” 56 sports in just P7.5-billion budget. In other countries including Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia that previously hosted the games, he said the budget was almost double even if it only included 30 to 45 sports.

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