THE Palarong Pambansa has finally been institutionalized into a law, giving each of the country’s 81 provinces to formalize and strengthen their respective sports programs.
Top officials from the Department of Education (DepEd) led their counterparts from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) in signing the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) that aims to promote and improve the Palarong Pambansa.
Republic Act 10688, or the Palarong Pambansa Law, aims to stress the multi-sport grassroots program as the primary avenue for providing in-school sports opportunities to improve the physical, intellectual and social well-being of the youth.
“We wanted to make sure that Palarong Pambansa will be institutionalized via a law, and RA 10588 is important in the institutionalization of the Palarong Pambansa as part of the program of DepEd.”
Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC, said after the signing ceremony on Monday at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan in DepEd Central Office in Pasig City.
The Palarong Pambansa was first staged in 1948 and has been under the supervision of the DedEd. It has produced national, Asian and world champions. The PSC, under an Executive Order from Malacanang, supervised the Palaro for a while in the late 1990s, but was eventually brought back to the Education Department’s control.
Luistro said the partnership with the PSC is to clarify which agency is really on top of the annual sports event, while the participation of the DILG is in accordance with the Palaro’s focus as a grassroots sports development program from an annual national sports event.
“The Palarong Pambansa is a pioneering effort by the Department of Education, but local government units also have a critical role in supporting the grassroots development program as envisioned by DepEd,” DILG Director Leocadio Trovela said.
PSC Chairman Ricardo Garcia was not able to attend the ceremony due to an emergency meeting.
(With Rosabell Toledo)
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza
1 comment
I hope the Palaro will have a few extra region, to cater to those kababayan living abroad.
Say, have a Region for the America Continent; a Region for the Oceania Continent; a Region for the European and African Continent; a Region for the Gulf and West Asia; and a Region for South East Asia, South Asia; and a Region for East and North Asia. In effect, there will be representatives of pinoys coming from all over the world, in order to compete in the Palaro. In this wise, it will be easier for the country to find talent around the world.