MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) vowed to “defend” its hosting of the regional biennial meet against information technology company Atos, which filed a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the organizers. (READ:IT firm seeks TRO vs SEA Games organizers over bidding mess)

PHISGOC, through legal director and spokesperson Atty Jarie R Osias, said it would no longer comment on the issue as the case is currently pending in court. 

“The matter is currently subject of a pending Court case. Our legal counsel advised us that we can’t comment any further, except that there is No TRO or Injunction by the Court to date, which means there is no legal obstacle for the SEA Games Information Management System (SEAGIS) to proceed as scheduled,” wrote Osias in a statement. 

The SEA Games organizers maintained that the group and the government, through the Deparment of Budget and Management Procurement Service, did not bypass the procurement rules.

“Given that the reputation of the Philippines is at stake in hosting the 30th SEA Games and that the government though the DBM Procurement Service strictly followed the procurement rules, we are prepared to defend this monumental event against those who believe they are above the law or exempt from legal requirements,” added Osias. 

Atos, which has also handled the games information system of the Olympics and Asian Games, questioned the validity of the public bidding held last August 2019 for the event’s technical services – claiming that the SEAGIS project had already been awarded to the company as the winning bidder on January 16, 2019.

PHISGOC allegedly instructed Atos to commence work on the SEAGIS project and follow the timelines and deliverables.

Atos claimed that the SEA Games organizing committee has already used and signed off 6 different services that were already rolled out this year – live system operation; game management system; result distribution system and integration; timing, scoring and results; infrastructure and venue inspections; and project management services.

Atos has already incurred expenses worth at least US $3 million for the work it has so far accomplished. 

The 2019 SEA Games is slated to hold 56 sports across Manila, Clark and Subic that will run from November 30 to December 11. – Rappler.com