ATHLETES from the National Capital Region, the Southern Tagalog and the Western Visayas Region will once again fight for supremacy in the 60th Palarong Pambansa in San Jose, Antique.
The annual games are set to be held from April 23 to 29, and will see the participation of student-athletes from 18 regions of the Philippines.
Organized and governed by the Department of Education, it is seen as one of the grandest sporting events every summer in the country.
Last year, NCR claimed 104 gold medals, 57 silvers and 48 bronzes to grab the overall honors for another year.
Southern Tagalog took second with 40-43-59 gold-silver bronze haul, followed by Western Visayas (35-35-39).
In fourth was Central Visayas (21-39-29).
Some 10,000 student-athletes from the country’s 18 regions, along with sports officials, are expected to participate in this year’s games.
The Palarong Pambansa aims to promote Physical Education (PE) and sports as integral parts of basic education for the youth to become responsible and globally competitive citizens of the country.
It also aims to inculcate in their minds the spirit of discipline, teamwork, excellence, fair play, solidarity, sportsmanship, and other inherent values, and promote and achieve peace through sports.
This will be the first time that Antique province will host the Palarong Pambansa.
Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental was edged out by a point during the voting done last November by the Palarong Pambansa Selection Committee.
Four events – wushu, billiard, wrestling and futsal – will be added to the regular sporting events in next year’s Palarong Pambansa.