There were numerous concerns and controversies about the 2019 SEA Games, which was hosted in the Philippines.
Accommodations and transportation Similar cases of delays and inadequacies in transportation and accommodations occurred upon the arrivals of the Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Timor-Leste national football teams, who were among the first set of athletes to arrive in the country ahead of the tournament, during the weekend of 23–24 November 2019: Pictures surfaced on social media of the Timor-Leste national football team waiting for their team bus to fetch them from Ninoy Aquino International Airport, upon their arrival on 23 November. Their bus reportedly fetched them two and a half hours later than scheduled, which then transported them to the wrong hotel. The Myanmar national football team, who arrived in Manila a few hours after the Timorese team, reportedly also waited excessively for their bus to fetch them at the airport. In addition, they complained that their bus, a minibus, was "cramped" and uncomfortable. Myanmar-based media sources reported that the team was unable to hold their first training session due to the delays. The Thailand national football team, through a Facebook post from the Football Association of Thailand, complained about the limited and repeated food and water rations provided to them at their hotel, as well as the disorganization of their hotel rooms, having to accommodate three players into rooms designed to accommodate a maximum of only two. In response, association president Somyot Poompanmoung was notified of their situation and ordered the association to provide the team more food. PHISGOC also responded by saying that they would provide more water bottles. Head coach Akira Nishino also revealed that the team was prompted to cancel their first training session due to heavy traffic and the distance between their hotel in Manila, Century Park Hotel, and the training grounds at the UP Diliman Football Field in Quezon City, forcing the team to train on the streets outside of their hotel. Pictures circulated online of the Cambodia national football team sleeping on the carpeted floor of the private conference room at their hotel. Head coach Felix Darmas revealed that they waited for about eight to nine hours. In response, PHISGOC sent an official statement issuing an apology to the four teams, following a direct complaint from the Timor-Leste football team. Century Park Hotel, the designated hotel for the Cambodian and Thai delegations, also responded by stating that there were no arrangements made with the PHISGOC regarding early check-ins for the teams, as some teams such as Timor-Leste's arrived a few hours before their check-in time. Century Park also addressed the limited and repeated food and water rations offered to the Thai delegation, by stating that a cycle menu for the SEA Games delegation as well as two bottles of water per day to be supplied per person based on hotel industry standards was prepared. On 26 November, Vallacar Transit CEO Leo Yanson, who also owns the local football club Ceres–Negros F.C., coordinated with the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) to lend 17 coaches intended for the transport of the national teams for the remainder of the tournament in lieu of the minibuses arranged by PHISGOC. PAREF Southridge School in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila offered its artificial turf to be used by the teams for training sessions. A number of local volunteers for the SEA Games complained about the lack of updates on the status of their deployment and expressed confusion regarding the transportation arrangement for their travel to the venues. The PHISGOC initially announced that they would provide Premium Point-to-Point Bus Services for the volunteers, although they clarified that they would be unable to provide accommodations and other modes of transportation for them. On 25 November 2019, SEA Games volunteer program head Chris Tiu responded that the lack of updates on the status of the volunteers' deployment was due to the numerous cases of missing requirements amongst volunteers. Tiu, however, reassured that they were finalizing their schedules. He added that the schedules would dictate the pickup points for the transportation of the volunteers. Indonesian news website Suara.com reported that the Indonesia national polo team waited for three hours at Ninoy Aquino International Airport for their transport to fetch them to their hotel. Logistics woes hounded the arrival of the women volleyball players of Thailand. They were stranded at the airport upon arrival at NAIA.
Provision of meals
The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos claimed that the PHISGOC had disregarded its recommendation to assist in the service of halal-certified meals, as well as the provision of segregated prayer rooms equipped with a qibla, for Muslim delegates during the tournament. It followed complaints from the Singaporean delegation, who issued a letter to PHISGOC regarding the lack of halal food options in their accommodations. The South China Morning Post reports that Muslim athletes and officials from Singapore were served kikiam, which contains ground pork that Muslims are prohibited from consuming, only to rectify it after Singapore clarifies that their Muslim athletes were not served pork. The head chef at the Athletes Village at New Clark City Sports Hub has also assured that all the meals served in the village would be fully halal-certified after consultation with the nutritionists of some of the delegations. An Indonesian Muslim media officer in the delegation of the Indonesia national football team complained that he was accidentally served a pork dish, claiming that PHISGOC could not make the distinction between halal-certified and non-halal meals. The Malaysian contingent decided to prepare food from Malaysia after the host failed to guarantee that halal food would be served during the event. It was also reported that Malaysian journalists had difficulty in sourcing halal food and the Sportswriters Association of Malaysia has resorted to eating halal canned food. On November 26, a report from GMA News's 24 Oras stated that the Philippine women's football team coach complained over kikiam with rice and egg being served as a breakfast by the SEA Games organizers. The hotel later explained that the kikiam was actually chicken sausage, and that it was part of a buffet that included other food as well as an egg omelette station. The hotel claimed in a statement that the coach later apologized to the hotel for the error. Jacob Joseph and Mai Đức Chung, the head coaches of the Malaysian and Vietnamese women's football teams respectively, shared that the Malaysian team only had "bread and some egg" served to them for breakfast. Chung requested for additional food and police escorts for the Vietnamese team en route to a training session at the Biñan Football Stadium, claiming that traffic was affecting their training schedules.
Financial concerns
There were reports in March 2019 that the Philippines might lose hosting rights of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games due to budgetary concerns and an alleged leadership dispute within the Philippine Olympic Committee. The proposed budget allotted for the games has been cut down by Senate to from . The chairman of the organizing committee Alan Peter Cayetano, who is also the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has assured that the hosting will push through citing support from the private sector and continued efforts by the organizers to secure government funding for the games. There was allegation of corruption by the PHILSOC Foundation led by Alan Peter Cayetano particularly it entered in an allegedly overprice deal regarding athlete uniform and sporting equipment. The Philippine government said that there could not be any corruption since it is the Philippine Sports Commission and the Department of Budget and Management are responsible for disbursement of funds in the games. Netizens criticized the PHISGOC's choice of venue for the bowling events, Starmall EDSA Shaw in Mandaluyong. Many claimed that the choice favoured the Villar political family who own the Filipino real estate company Vista Land, the parent company of Starmall. PHISGOC chairman, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, denied the claim by clarifying that the bowling alley to be used during the events is operated by a different firm. Cayetano justified the PHISGOC's choice of venue as having met World Bowling standards. Senate Minority Floor Leader Franklin Drilon questioned the (US$1 million) budget allotted for the construction of the 2019 SEA Games cauldron (). During the plenary deliberations of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority's (BCDA) budget for the 2019 SEA Games at the Philippine Senate, Drilon lamented that the budget could have been used for other purposes of national importance, such as the construction of classrooms instead. Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate finance committee, defended the budget by saying that the cauldron is intended to showcase Filipino ingenuity. Senator Bong Go, chairman of the Senate sports committee, added that the government plans to lease out the cauldron after the event. President Rodrigo Duterte denied corruption allegations over its construction and reiterated Angara's claim, even adding that the PHISGOC commissioned Francisco Mañosa, a National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture, to design the cauldron. Alan Peter Cayetano denied that the budget for the cauldron was overpriced and said that it was cheaper than the cauldron constructed for the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore, which cost around ($1.2 million). In November 2019, the BCDA denied involvement in a funding scheme with the Malaysian investment holding firm MTD Capital Berhad for the construction of some facilities in the New Clark City Sports Hub. Local media sources reported that the firm would receive half of the shares earned from the usage of the facilities, estimated to be in return. While the Philippine Competition Commission had approved the joint venture between the BCDA and MTD for the construction of the National Government Administrative Center in March, the BCDA claimed that none of the firm's sources of finance originated from the Philippine government. Instead, the Philippine government opted to pay MTD in full in order to avoid accrued interest, according to the BCDA's official statement. The BCDA admitted that they had yet to pay the firm.
Health and safety A volunteer construction worker at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila fell from a scaffolding he was dismantling, hours before the first football match at the stadium, due to heavy rains. The worker was admitted to the nearby Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center, where the attending physician declared that he had suffered a fractured skull and a blood clot in his head. The worker claimed that his team was "forced to work nearly 24 hours on a single stretch" as they were behind schedule. Faiq Bolkiah, team captain of the Brunei national football team and the nephew of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, was admitted to the Manila Doctors Hospital in Ermita, Manila on the evening of 24 November after suffering a peanut allergy. An official from the Brunei football team's medical staff stated that Faiq's allergic reaction originated from a curry dish served for dinner at his hotel, causing swelling of his lips. Following the incident, the medical official requested the organizers to list the ingredients of every meal served. Faiq has since fully recovered from the incident.