Some Filipinos might have praised the facilities of New Clark City, but it led to criticisms and even invalidation of news reports on other venues’ conditions that showed less-than-stellar results.
A number of social media posts featuring pictures of the amenities and services in the Athlete’s Village have been circulating recently, but it prompted pro-administration Filipinos to lambast the media for reporting what was seen in Manila venues.
One Twitter post, for instance, called out supporters of the Liberal Party and told them to take a look at the newly built facilities in Tarlac.
A Facebook user also shared some pictures from Clark and mentioned that the Philippines is “ready” to host the multi-sport event despite the occurrence of several mishaps.
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Ready naman na talaga yung philippines mag host sa sea games may mga uto uto lang talagang naniniwala sa mga fake news…
Posted by Godwin Argoncillo on Tuesday, November 26, 2019
“Nakita na ba ng media ‘to?” another Twitter user said as he shared pictures of facilities in the Athletes’ Village.
Nakita ba sa media ito?
Athletes' village.#SEAGames2019 #WeWinAsOne pic.twitter.com/fGsjJS3Cee
— Doctor Luck (@doctorluckmd) November 25, 2019
A Reddit user pointed out, however, that reports on yet-to-be-completed venues are located in Manila.
“I don’t get why DDS (die-hard Duterte supporters) keeps on harping the beautiful amenities and facilities of Clark, when in fact, most of the problems are happening in the Metro Manila cluster,” the user wrote.
“Commendable naman ‘yung sa Clark, pero anong magagawa ng pag-share mo ng pictures doon sa mga problems sa Manila?” the post continued.
The Reddit user also said that the organizers should’ve settled football matches in New Clark City instead so that venue-related problems could be avoided.
“Sana nilagay nila sa Clark ang football para hindi matindi ang reklamo ng mga foreign athletic teams,” the post added.
“Ang masama pa nito, pinilit nilang ipagamit ang RMSC (Rizal Memorial Stadium Complex) na still under renovation pa rin,” it continued.
The user’s sentiments were shared by a particular Twitter user as well.
Bat ba sinasabing fake news yung about sa situation sa Manila ng makita nila yung sa Clark???
Hindi ba nila alam na may ibat ibang venue????
May nakita kayong maganda, akala niyo hindi na totoo yung pangit???#SeaGame2019
— bpxjl (@bpxjl) November 27, 2019
The 30th Southeast Asian Games will commence from November 30 to December 11 in various venues at Clark, Manila, Subic, Batangas, Laguna and Tagaytay, among others.
Only two sports are scheduled to be held in New Clark City, specifically water (swimming, water polo and diving events) and athletics.
There are at least 56 sports and 530 events scheduled for this year’s edition of the games.
Manila venues
The Philippine Sports Commission previously slammed a video of a local reporter that showed oddities in a female restroom taken at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium which is part of RMSC.
The agency posted an edited photo on its Facebook page and juxtaposed it with a screengrab of the video but there were others who claimed that the former might’ve shown a different part of the restroom.
Last Monday, an unfinished venue for squash matches inside RMSC was converted into a makeshift media center for the advance football games.
It was also reported that a press conference following a match between Malaysia and Myanmar was initially held in an alley instead.
A GMA news anchor also featured a live coverage of some of the venues to be used in the World Trade Center at Pasay.
Despite it clearly undergoing construction at that time, she received hateful comments even though she only reported what was on seen on the ground.
A local report also featured a construction worker who bared that he and his companions almost worked 24 hours to complete a venue in RMSC in time for the first football match.
He accidentally slipped as he dismantled a scaffolding and shared that he probably failed to notice the surface he stepped on due to lack of sleep.
