Manila – President Rodrigo Duterte has absolved House of Representatives speaker Alan Peter Cayetano from the alleged corruption in the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
Duterte on Thursday said Cayetano, who chairs the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee, is “innocent” of corruption.
“I am not investigating Cayetano. I am just trying to find out because I think, I said, the money must not have been properly disbursed. I know that Cayetano cannot handle everything. He has to delegate (tasks). You have different levels, echelons,” he added.
Cayetano was blamed for the issues that hounded the SEA Games such as the delayed transport and accommodation of some athletes, unfinished venues and limited availability of halal food options among others.
Duterte recently said he wanted to probe into the corruption allegations against the organizers of the event. He will assign some retired auditors from the Commission on Audit and lawyers to conduct the investigation.
“If you are a reasonable man… do not create a firestorm now because we are in the thick of the preparation. Let us investigate after and I assure you I will investigate,” he added.
This will be the fourth time that the country is hosting the biennial sporting event with the first three happened in 1981, 1991 and 2005./PN
