Monday, November 12, 2007 RP Nat'l Games, after 11 years, may see light
THE Philippine National Games (PNG) is on its final stages of concrete planning and it will finally see the light of day next year, 11 years after it was last held.
“We are just making the final touches and hopefully early next year, the local qualifying will start in Manila,” said Fr. Vic Uy, technical assistant to Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William “Butch” Ramirez.
Ramirez badly wanted to revive the games in 2006, but faced a setback when the PSC was only allotted a small budget from the Department of Budget and Management for 2007. Because of the preparation for the Southeast Asian Games and the Olympics, the PNG plans had to be shelved.
However, after getting positive response from different government agencies during the stakeholders’ summit last Friday, PNG’s resurrection became even more apparent.
Uy said that the meet will be managed by the PSC and will be held in the local, regional and national levels.
The PNG, which was started by former Philippine Olympic Committee head Celso Dayrit, was last staged in 1997 here in Cebu under PSC chairperson Philip Ella Juico.
Department of Education’s Dr. Danilo Villadolid sees the revival of the PNG a positive thing for the local athletes.
“If this will push through, it will greatly benefit our local athletes because this is not a so-so meet. This is an open competition for the best of the best from different LGU’s,” added Villadolid, who is also the regional point person of the PSC.
As of now, excelling athletes’ avenue for competition is the Philippine Olympic Festival, which is being managed by the Philippine Olympic Committee. (MCB)
