By REYNALD MAGALLON
Vice President and Department of Education Secretary Sara Duterte led the inspection of the game venues for the 2023 Palarong Pambansa which will be hosted by the City of Marikina from July 29 to Aug. 5.
Duterte was joined by the Palarong Pambansa board members Department of Interior and Local Government secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann and Marikina City Mayor Marcy Teodoro.
She toured around and inspected the Olympic-sized swimming pool and the newly refurbished track oval inside the Marikina Sports Center before joining Teodoro in the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between DepEd and the City of Marikina.
“The Palarong Pambansa is a springboard for young Filipinos to become strong leaders and better communicators. They learn to make decisions, inspire their teammates and communicate with teammates, coaches and referees as they participate in team activities” said Duterte.
It’s now all systems go for Marikina’s hosting of the Palaro with the preparations for the billeting, security, the 29 game venues and even the grand parade for the opening already in place.
Aside from the usual sport events, this year’s Palaro will also feature Indigenous Filipino Games also known as Laro ng Lahi like kadang-kadang, tumbang preso and patintero on July 28.
Other sports such as weightlifting, obstacle course, esports and cheerdance will also be played as part of exhibition sports while dancesports and pencak silat will also be featured demonstration sports.
Around 1,573 medals are at stake for this year’s 9,172 delegates in all of the 34 sports events in the Para Games and Demo sports in Palaro’s return after a three-year lull due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
