10 Interest things about the Palarong Pambansa

One of the things that keep Palarong Pambansa interesting year after year—aside from the excellent display of sporting prowess, of course—is the “flavor” it gets from host cities that provide the backdrop for the biggest sporting event in the country.

As you probably know by now, the week-long #Palaro2016 is being held in Albay, while talk has it that Bacolod might host next year’s activities.

But where the Palaro is to be held is only one of the many interesting things that make the sporting event special. We know that the Palaro boosts tourism of the host city. We know that the Palaro is also training ground for athletes that want to advance to the South East Asian Games.

Here’s some more of the things—milestones, firsts, trivias—that make National Games exciting and fascinating, all good stuff:

A Football match at the Bicol University

1. The Palarong Pambansa 2016 is the 59th edition of the annual sporting event.
2. This is the first time that Albay had the honor—and responsibility—of hosting the Palaro.
3. More than 1,000 medals are up for grabs in this year’s Palaro, in 17 annual events and 4 demo sports.
4. The four demonstration sports are Billiards, Futsal, Wrestling, and Wushu. While medals won in these events are still not counted in the official medal tally, any or all of them may be added in the annual sports in the near future.
5. All sports are completed in Elementary and Secondary levels—except for Archery, which is only played in the Secondary level.
6. The local government of Albay spent P400 million (over 5 months) for the Palaro. This includes the construction of a sports track and swimming pool, plus sprucing up of billeting for delegates.
7. For this year’s Palaro, more than 2,500 police officers and more than 800 emergency health staff were deployed to ensure security of delegates.
8. This is the first time that the Negros Island Region (NIR) joined the Palarong Pambansa. The NIR is a newly formed region in the country, composed of Negros Oriental (which used to be part of Region 7) and Negros Occidental (which used to be part of Region 6).
9. This year saw the first PWD torchbearer in the person of Francis Everesto who helped national team and PBA player Terrence Romeo light the ceremonial torch during the event’s opening ceremony.
10. Senator Pia Cayetano is one of the many alumni of Palarong Pambansa. She once played Volleyball for the NCR team.

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