By Krista Angela M. Montealegre Reporter

IT’S all systems go for the participation of the 251 athletes to the 25th Southeast Asian Games this December 9 to 18 in Laos.
The campaign of the 98 athletes who will not be supported by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has been hanging in the balance for weeks, but now that the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has already raised the full budget worth P5.6 million, athletics chief Go Teng Kok said they have nothing to worry about.

“Yes, everybody will go to Laos, the POC president was able to raise the needed funding from the private sectors, mostly his friends, to shoulder the expenses of those left out by the PSC,” said Go, also special assistant to the POC president, during Friday’s SCOOP sa Kamayan session.

Out of 251 athletes, the PSC headed by Chairman Harry Angping will only finance 153 athletes since they won either a gold or silver medal in the 2007 edition of the biennial meet in Thailand.

Now that the country will be sending its full delegation to Laos, Go is confident that the Filipino athletes can bring home at least 50 gold medals for a third place finish, a far cry from their sixth place showing two years ago in Thailand.

Go said that in medal-rich sports such as swimming and athletics, the Philippines can already produce around 20 to 25 gold medals.

Despite the assurance of the Olympic committee that all the 251 athletes will see action in the Games, nothing is certain yet as to the date of departure of the RP contingent to Vientiane, the capital of the host nation and the main hub of the Games.

Go said that Jose”Peping” Cojuangco Jr. and POC Deputy Secretary General Mark Joseph are currently negotiating with top executives of Philippine Airlines on the possibility of having a chartered flight fly the entire delegation to Laos.

The only thing definite as of now is that Chief of Mission Mario Tanchangco and his group will leave on December 3, Go said.