By MARK REY MONTEJO
LAOAG CITY – The first gold for the 2025 Palarong Pambansa could be as bright as the morning sunshine as participants in athletics’ 3,000-meter are expected go all-out to win the bragging rights as the event’s first gold medal winner on Monday, May 26, at Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium (FEMMS) Track and Field.
That honor belongs to the girls’ secondary bets as they plunge into action at 6 a.m., followed by the medal rounds in the boys’ elementary long jump and girls’ elem discus throw.
In last year’s Cebu City edition, hometown bet Asia Paraase copped the first gold in 3,000m event at the then controversial sport center.
Other disciplines are also set to unfurl in various locations across Ilocos Norte on the same day. And these are archery, badminton, aero, rhythmic and artistics gymnastics, three paragames (bocce, goalball, and swimming), chess, billiards, pencak silat, wrestling, sepaktakraw, futsal, and weightlifting.
Softball, arnis, wushu, basketball (5×5, 3×3), tennis, baseball, para athletics, table tennis, and boxing, and football already started over the weekend.
Last Saturday night, the annual tournament was officially unveiled by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. along with top officials including Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richard Bachmann.
Marcos officially declared the week-long scholastic meet open to the cheers of thousands of participants from 18 regions and two special delegations.
“Alam namin na kayong lahat ay ninanais nyong magkaroon ng medal, ngunit tandaan ninyo lahat kayo ay kinikilala na kampyeon,” said Marcos. “Kayo ang pinakamagaling sa inyong paaralan, probinsya, at rehiyon. Magandang halimbawa kayo sa kabataang Pilipino, na may pangarap sa buhay at dedikasyon para matupad ito.”
“Ngayon ay nasa Palarong Pambansa kayo [at] sa susunod kayo na ang kinatawan ng Pilipinas sa Asian Games at tyaka sa Olympics, kaya paghusayan ninyo,” he added.
Aside from the chief of state, top officials from the government graced the event alongside Philippine Sports Commision chairman Richard Bachmann and Department of Education (DepEd) secretary Sonny Angara.
Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, who led the oath taking of the coaches and technical officials, while Gerick John Flores, a baserunner who had the most stolen bases in the 11th BFA U12 Asian Baseball Championship, presided over athletes’ swearingin.
“Malay natin dito sa mga kasama natin na ito meron dyan na lilitaw na Manny Pacquiao, Hidilyn Diaz, Carlos Yulo, Aira Villegas, Nesthy Petecio, EJ Obiena, o Alex Eala,” Marcos continued.
