Do we want to be champions or GROs? – Sotto

MANILA, Philippines — “Ano ba gusto natin: Maging champions o maging mga GRO [guest relations officers]?”

[What to we want: To become champions or to become GROs?]

Senate President Vicente Sotto III raised this question on Wednesday amid the alleged logistical mess plaguing the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

“I think the focus now, as the athletes are telling their countrymen, is to encourage them to win gold medals. They should not mind the complaints of whoever,” Sotto, speaking in Filipino, told reporters in an interview.

“We are here in this fight. We should be alert. Let us not be too hospitable. What do we want: To become champions or to become GROs?”

He also pointed out that the guest countries might be just making such complaints to shift the focus of the Filipino athletes from the games.

“We should not allow it to anchor us down because of these complaints. Sometimes that’s just part of the strategy,” Sotto said. “Whatever is happening, don’t mind it too much. What’s important is that we win gold medals and even become the overall champion as the host country usually wins the overall championship.”

Issues surrounding the SEA Games were highlighted after the football teams of four countries complained of getting messy receptions on their arrival in Manila this weekend.

Players from Timor-Leste and Myanmar had to wait for hours at the airport when they arrived in Manila.

Problems over the supposed lack of the quality of food served to athletes also arose.

But according to Sotto, “blunders” such as these are “very normal.”

Back in the 1970s and the 1980s, the Senate leader himself competed as part of the country’s bowling team.

“Every two years, and every four years in the Asian Games and every World Cup and every President’s Cup that I have attended, there was always a complaint against the host country. There’s never been a lack of that. And blunders can’t be avoided either,” he said.

“This is not limited to the Philippines. That’s why I’m saying that we have an organizing committee to address these complaints,” he added.

He said that when he competed during the SEA Games or the Asian Games, his team would also experience problems with the food.

“The food was not good and it was limited. It’s gone cold — things like that).

“What would then happen was that our NSA [National Sports Association] would provide for us. They would buy us food because we don’t like the one that’s available).

He also said that at the time, they would not be allowed to practice for the competition.

“And then with the venue, the bowling lanes, they would not let us see it. They would not let us see the oiling condition. They would say that no practice was allowed, but their team would already be practicing,” Sotto went on. “They won’t let us see the oiling condition, which is very crucial in a bowling tournament. We are only able to see it on the day of the tournament itself.”

The recent complaints about the country’s hosting of the biennial SEA Games were amplified due to social media, he said.

“There was still no social media back then so no one would really notice our complaints,” he said, referring to his previous experiences. “Unlike nowadays, it magnifies the complaints.”

/atm