MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang has apologized to the athletes and guests from the different Southeast Asian countries who encountered snags in their transportation and hotel arrangements on arrival in the Philippines over the weekend for the 2019 SEA Games.

“We can no longer undo what has been done. The Office of the President will not offer any excuses. As host country, we apologize for the unintentional inconvenience suffered by our athlete-guests,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement Sunday.

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The Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc), the private organization in charge of organizing the games, has already apologized for their shortcomings.

Panelo also pointed out that Phisgoc has “committed to do better in ensuring proper coordination from the arrival of the athletes to their transportation and hotel accommodations.”

“The Palace notes that there is no report of any incident jeopardizing their safety and their health,” he said.

The Palace official noted that while they are not “promising that the Games will run without a hitch,” he said that the government will exercise “due diligence in making sure everyone will have a pleasant, productive and memorable stay in the Philippines.”

“We wish all the participating athletes good luck and look forward to their excellent and hopefully world record-breaking performances!”

The Philippines’ hosting of the biennial regional multi-sporting event is off to a rough start as football teams from Timor-Leste, Myanmar and Cambodia reportedly encountered transportation and hotel arrangements problems on their arrival in the country.

Football players from Timor-Leste and Myanmar have complained about the inconveniences they have encountered at the airport and with hotel arrangements.

The Myanmar football team was reportedly not able to practice on Saturday night due to delays.

Photos circulating on social media show members of the Cambodian team sleeping on floors while guests from Timor Leste claimed that they had waited for several hours for the arrival of their shuttle, only to be brought to the wrong hotel.

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The Thai football team, meanwhile, also complained about the confusion at the airport, and they were also forced to change their practice schedule as the training venue was far away from their hotel.

The 2019 SEA Games will run from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11. The games will be held in venues in Metro Manila, Clark, and Subic in Pampanga and other areas.

Edited by MUF

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