MANILA, 19 April — Boxing and bowling, two sports that have traditionally been considered as the Filipinos’ medal mines, if not veritable sources of golds, in the Southeast Asian Games, are in danger of being scrapped in Vietnam in 2003.

This came after organizers in the 2003 SEA Games which Vietnam is hosting had signified their intention to scrap the two sports in the calendar of events on their turf.

Although Filipino boxers went home empty-handed last year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Philippine sports officials are still confident they would come back with revenge in Hanoi next year.

A Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) delegation headed by its president, Celso Dayrit, was alarmed over Vietnam’s plan, but said they would “go all-out to push for all the sports the Filipinos are good at, especially in boxing and bowling”.

Dayrit and Co. left for Hanoi this week to attend the SEA Games Federation meeting, the highlight of which is the selection of events to be played on their home soil, with a clear and bold mission to block Vietnam’s reported plan to exclude the two disciplines in 2003. Unfortunately, boxing and bowling were placed on the back burner by Hanoi organizers during the meeting.

“We heard boxing and bowling might not be proposed for inclusion because according to the secretary general of the Vietnam Olympic Committee, they don’t practice the sports, particularly boxing,” said Dayrit.

“We have already expressed to Vietnam our intention to have boxing in 2003 during our last SEA Games meeting. We’ll push for it again. As a matter of fact, the POC will push for all the sports we are good at, especially for sports which we think should be included in the 2005 SEA Games,” he added.

The Philippines has agreed to play host to the 2005 SEA Games.

Also in Hanoi, organizers had approved the inclusion of wushu, taekwondo and judo into the initial 21 events for the 2003 edition of the biennial games.

Sports officials from 10 SEA Games Federation countries have agreed unanimously on the 21 events. The Philippine delegation expressed hopes Hanoi will still consider the inclusion of boxing and bowling in its calendar of events.

Boxing, along with 10 other sports, is still being considered for inclusion in the official program later this year, according to state-controlled Lao Dong trade union newspaper in Vietnam.

As a matter of fact, Vietnam is reportedly holding its national boxing championships in December in preparation for its foray in the 2003 games.

For the record, boxing did not win gold medal for the Philippines only for the first time last year in Kuala Lumpur.

The best the Filipino boxers could do was to win two silver and five bronze medals in Kuala Lumpur amid claims by the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) that its wards fell prey to biased judging.

Filipino bowlers, on the other hand, bagged four golds in Kuala Lumpur.

The Philippines is also batting for the inclusion of billiards, also held for consideration by the Hanoi organizers, after the sport netted three golds for the country in Kuala Lumpur. Other disciplines set to be deliberated upon later this year are chess, diving, shuttlecock kicking, archery, weightlifting, fencing, rowing, petanque.

Hanoi organizers are particularly pushing for the approval of chess.

The Filipino sports officials took a collective sigh of relief after four martial arts disciplines — judo, karatedo, wushu and taekwondo — were included in the 2003 calendar of events. These sports have immensely helped the Philippine campaign in the SEA Games after collecting a number of gold medals in the past. While athletics led the Philippine campaign in Kuala Lumpur by collecting eight golds, 11 silvers and four bronzes, martial arts disciplines accounted for a third of the country’s fifth-placing 30-gold, 66-silver and 67-bronze medal haul.

Wushu claimed the biggest number of medals among the martial arts disciplines with four golds, two silvers and four bronzes to its credit, followed by taekwondo with a 3-5-5 gold-silver-bronze harvest; karatedo (2-1-5); and judo (1-3-5).

Also making it to the list are athletics, aquatics, handball, football, volleyball, basketball, sepak takraw, cycling, badminton, wrestling, pencak silat, tennis, canoeing, shooting, table tennis, bodybuilding and gymnastics.

The Filipino sports officials also used the SEA Games meeting to submit President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s commitment to host the 2005 SEA Games.

Meanwhile, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Eric Buhain urged the immediate formation of an executive committee for the country’s hosting of the 2005 SEA Games and the subsequent naming of the venue to ensure fund allotment. Buhain said the 2005 SEA Games’ venue should already be known by September so that the item could be discussed in Congress budget hearings for 2003.

“By the end of the third quarter of this year, there has to be a decision where the venue will be, otherwise, we might lose one year,” said Buhain.

President Arroyo officially committed the government last month to the hosting of the 11-nation conclave. But after the president’s acceptance, Malacanang and the POC have yet to sit down to discuss details of the hosting, including the creation of a multi-agency committee. Clark in Pampanga, Cebu, Bacolod-Iloilo, Naga City, General Santos and Manila are vying for the hosting right for the 2005 SEA Games.

The Philippines will host the games for the first time since 1991 when Manila played host to it. Manila and Bacolod are considered front-runners although other candidates remain in the race owing to their determination and readiness to stage the regional sportsfest. The country’s capital city is enjoying a slight edge over Bacolod since it has already played host to the biennial meet twice, in 1981 and 1991.

Manila believes that efficiency, cost-saving and being the center of activities in the Philippines make it the logical choice as focal point of the Games. Bacolod and its allies in the bid, Negros Occidental and Iloilo, are willing to set aside 2 billion pesos to refurbish the facilities in the Panaad Sports Complex (RMSC) and other venues for the games.

For its part, Manila is willing to shell out 1 billion pesos to spruce up the age-old Rizal Memorial Sports Complex where the two editions of the games were held.

According to Manila officials, the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, according only needs refurbishing and improvement to meet international standard. Pampanga is said to be setting aside 3 billion for its bid.

There was a suggestion from Pampanga provincial board member Yeng Guiao for the national government to just sell the RMSC and use the money from that sale to build a state-of-the-art stadium either in Clark or at the Reclamation area but Manila bluntly turned it down.

The Cebu City government has expressed full support to the city’s bid. The Queen City of the South said it could easily hold 10 to 15 sports events for the Games.

Among those being eyed to host several sports events are nearby provinces like Lapu-Lapu, Danao, Mandaue and Mactan. Representatives of these places are amenable to the city’s concept of a multi-city hosting of the Games. Cebu is eyeing the 22-hectare area at the South Reclamation area or a huge property in Lapu-Lapu City to be potential venues for a new state-of-the-art stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies.

Pampanga is offering the vast area inside Clark Field as venue of the new sports complex that would eventually replace the 67-year-old RMSC — which some officials believe is no longer a conducive place to train the national athletes.

Pampanga said it would need at least 3 billion pesos for the ambitious project with help coming from the national government.

Still, Manila remains the top contender as the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has used the capital’s experience and existing facilities as “reference” for the other bidders to outdo.

There are indications, however, events in the Games would be scattered throughout the Philippines as POC officials liked the Malaysian approach last year in which events were held in the provinces of Penang and Johor Bahru, aside from the capital Kuala Lumpur. The POC has long finalized the guidelines for the bidding.

The hosting of the Games in the country will boost not only the national sports development program but also the tourism industry. Philippine sports boomed in 1981 when it hosted the Games where the Gintong Alay athletes reigned supreme over their counterparts in the region. During the 1991 Manila edition, the Philippines landed second overall with a record high of 91 golds. Hosting the games will not only spur sports development nationwide but will more importantly give all involved in sports a common direction to work on.

Around 9,000 athletes and coaches, technical officials, and media personnel from 10 countries in the region are expected to participate. Moreover, this major regional sports event is expected to increase tourist arrival and generate improved foreign exchange earnings.