BANGKOK, Thailand — The Philippine Olympic Committee is at the forefront of the move to change the name of Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Games (ASEAN Games) during the biennial meet council meeting, Monday, Dec. 8.

POC president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino is actively pushing for the change to put the Games in line with the ASEAN brand which is the name of the region’s geopolitical and economic bloc that promotes growth, peace and cultural development among member countries in Southeast Asia.

The POC chief, however, admitted that the move was met with opposition from other national Olympic committees

“Hindi makakalusot iyon, palagay ko. Na-delay lang namin. Kami ang nag-push noon kasi ASEAN na nga tayo ‘di ba? ASEAN—Association of Southeast Asian Nations,” said Tolentino.

“Iyon nga nag-evolve, naging SEA Games. Bakit ba hindi puwede maging ASEAN? Iyon na nga ginagamit sa business at political doings sa United Nations—ASEAN. Hindi lang maka-detach iyon mga old-timer.”

A name change could be a full-circle moment for the Games which began in Bangkok in 1961 under the name Southeast Asian Peninsular Games.

Tolentino explained that the name change would allow the Games to tap on the business sector although other member nations expressed reluctance in fear that the biennial meet would be tied to politics.

“That's a marketing side. ASEAN. How can you tap the business side if you will not use ASEAN? Ayaw pumayag ng mga old-timers,” added the POC chief.

“Baka daw ma-link sa politics, sa government ano kaya ayaw nilang palitan. Pero ako, pabor kami doon kasi ipina-aprubahan ko. Tinitignan ko kanina baka apat lang kami out of 11 (in favor of the ruling). Baka pang-lima ang Timor-Leste. ‘Di ba, dapat may out-of-the-box thinking?,” he added.