Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino made the announcement after the virtual SEA Games Federation Council meeting he attended on Thursday.

“The SEA Games Federation unanimously decided not to hold the SEA Games this year due to COVID-19 in the region,” he said.

According to Tolentino, a consensus was made by the member nations to ensure the health and safety of the participating athletes.

The 31st SEA Games, which were scheduled to take place from November 21 to December 2 this year, will be moved to a later date the following year.

Within the next 10 days, Vietnam will decide on a new date for the sporting event to take place.

“Mas gusto nilang matuloy, so I think mamimili na lang ng dates, whether it’s March, April, or May,” Tolentino said.

“Right now, we’ll play by ear by this point. We have to know which dates ang ibigay ng Vietnam,” Philippine Sports Commissioner Mon Fernandez said.