# Philippines at the 1989 SEA Games

The Philippines participated at the 15th Southeast Asian Games held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 20–31 August 1989.

## SEA Games performance

Swimmer Eric Buhain won three gold medals in his favorite events, all in record times, to become the best performer among close to 3,000 peers that represented nine other Southeast Asian neighbors. Buhain's feat served as the saving grace in the otherwise mediocre and scandalous participation of the Philippines in the biennial meet. 15-year old swimming star Akiko Thomson and Buhain's teammate in the swimming squad, also shone with three gold medals, fashioned out in record-breaking times of both the national and SEA Games marks. Elma Muros, tagged to win at least four gold medals, settled for only two following a leg injury, took the gold in long jump, surpassing the Asian Games standard, to become the only other athlete in the field, outside of Buhain to better an Asian record.
The results of the 26 gold medals harvest was the worst finish of any Philippine delegation to the SEA Games. It came too short of an earlier projection of 59 gold medals. Many dubbed the Philippine participation as a debacle or a disaster as cries of resignation for sports leaders were heard.

## Medalists
### Gold

| No. | Medal | Name | Sport | Event |
| 1 | Gold | Eric Buhain | Swimming | Men's 200m butterfly |
| 2 | Gold | Eric Buhain | Swimming | Men's 200m individual medley |
| 3 | Gold | Eric Buhain | Swimming | Men's 400m individual medley |
| 4 | Gold | Akiko Thomson | Swimming | Women's 50m freestyle |
| 5 | Gold | Akiko Thomson | Swimming | Women's 100m freestyle |
| 6 | Gold | Akiko Thomson | Swimming | Women's 100m backstroke |
| 7 | Gold | Ramon Solis | Weightlifting | Men's Weightlifting |

### Silver

| No. | Medal | Name | Sport | Event |
| 1 | Silver | Philippines | Swimming | Men's team |
| 2 | Silver | Martin Palacios | Swimming | Men's 1500m freestyle |
| 3 | Silver | Eric Buhain | Swimming | Men's 100m butterfly |
| 4 | Silver | Philippines | Swimming | Men's 4x100m medley relay |
| 5 | Silver | Akiko Thomson | Swimming | Women's 200m backstroke |
| 6 | Silver | Andres Battad Julio Carluen Danilo Pila Rod Rafael | Tennis | Men's team |
| 7 | Silver | Robert Layug Vargas | Taekwondo | Men's sparring Lightweight |

### Bronze

| No. | Medal | Name | Sport | Event |
| 1 | Bronze | Eric Buhain | Swimming | Men's 200m freestyle |
| 2 | Bronze | Martin Palacios | Swimming | Men's 400m freestyle |
| 3 | Bronze | Philippines | Swimming | Men's 4x100m freestyle relay |
| 4 | Bronze | Philippines | Swimming | Men's 4x100m medley relay |
| 5 | Bronze | Nina Castillejo Sarah Castillejo Jennifer Saret Dorothy Jan Suarez | Tennis | Women's team |

### Multiple

| Name | Sport | | | | Total |
| Eric Buhain | Swimming | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Akiko Thomson | Swimming | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Martin Palacios | Swimming | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |

## Medal summary
### By sports

| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Swimming | 6 | 4 | 4 | 14 |
| Athletics | 4 | 7 | 6 | 17 |
| Shooting | 3 | 5 | 12 | 20 |
| Boxing | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Bowling | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Weightlifting | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Karate | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Golf | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Judo | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Gymnastics | 0 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Cycling | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Taekwondo | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Archery | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Tennis | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Basketball | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bodybuilding | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Fencing | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Sailing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (18 entries) | 26 | 35 | 64 | 125 |