The Philippine Sports Commission will hold the first 2019 Pilipinas Para Games in the province of Benguet on May 9 to 11 with about 1,500 athletes expected to participate.
PSC Oversight Commissioner for para-athletes Arnold Agustin said that the sporting event is the successor of the Differently-Abled Sports for Life (DAS4Life) program from last year.
“From last year’s DAS4Life program that was city-wide, this year’s Pilipinas Para Games will now have a country-wide scope that will reach more talents and promising para-athletes across the country,” said Agustin.
Thirteen municipalities in Benguet will compete in eight sports namely; chess, badminton, volleyball for the deaf, powerlifting, table tennis, athletics and goalball, with archery and wheelchair basketball as demo sports.
“We have added more sports events in the program to encourage and cater more para-athletes in sports,” said Agustin.
A coordination meeting was conducted between the PSC and the local government of Benguet last month in preparation for the games, that is also in partnership with the Philippine Paralympic Committee (PPC).
Agustin will grace the ‘PSC Hour’ on Radyo Pilipinas 2 on Friday to discuss this new project.