KORONADAL CITY -- The 2007 edition of the Palarong Pambansa opened in grand fashion here Sunday amid a blistering afternoon heat that practically heralded the week-long heated competition among around 8,000 athletes and coaches coming from the country's 17 regions.
A 15-minute grand display of fireworks marked the start of the annual national games that was last hosted by this city along with the provinces of Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, Sarangani and General Santos City in 1996.
Homegrown sports stars led by the reigning Ms. Universe body fitness titlist Dwan Abantao, past Palarong Pambansa gold medallists Christine Camora and Michael Franial, International athletics campaigners Jerry Baldon and Isidro Vildosola and young Taekwondo champion Rolando Marie Doria Jr. joined the opening of the games to light up the giant Palaro torch.
"This a time to celebrate and a time relish once again the one great thing that has united us Filipinos--sports," Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chair William "Butch" Ramirez stressed in his speech during the opening program at the newly-upgraded South Cotabato sports complex here.
Ramirez, who represented President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, paid tribute to the rich history of the Palarong Pambansa, which is considered one of national government's longest-running grassroots sports programs.
He reiterated the government's commitment to continually support the annual holding of the games, which took the backseat several times in the past due to the lack of funding support.
"The Palarong Pambansa is a picture of strength and the hope of our grassroots sports program," Ramirez said.
He said the PSC is pinning on the Palarong Pambansa for the discovery of new sports talents that may represent the country in international sports events such as the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games and possibly the Olympics.
Ramirez challenged athletes, coaches, judges, referees and other participants in the games to uphold the value of sportsmanship, fair play, honesty and integrity.
It may be recalled that the Palarong Pambansa in Naga City last year was marred by cases of player switching and fielding of overage players several delegations.
A report from the Department of Education's (DepEd) legal department cited that at least 11 school officials were earlier charged before the Ombudsman for their alleged involvement in 16 cases of player-switching.
In a bid to curb such problem, DepEd required participating athletes to submit birth certificates authenticated by the National Statistics Office and signed by their coaches, advisers, district superintendents and principals.
Len Toledo, chair of DepEd's Palaro secretariat, said at least 18 sporting events will be played in the secondary level and 17 in the elementary level during the entire games that will end on April 28.
The events to be played are swimming, track and field, taekwondo, chess, football, volleyball, sepak takraw, table tennis, lawn tennis, badminton, gymnastics, dancesport, baseball, archery and softball.
The games in secondary level include the indigenous arnis, which was introduced in the 2006 Palaro as a demonstration event.
Basketball was also reinstated in the events calendar after about two years of furlough due to the country's suspension in international play issued by the International Basketball Federation or FIBA. The basketball formally lifted the suspension last month.
Meantime, host Mayor Fernando Miguel assured the security of visiting delegations saying local law enforcement agencies have set stringent security measures during the entire games.
"We have long prepared for this and we are doing everything to ensure that our games will not be disrupted by any untoward incident," he pointed out.
The Philippine National Police Region 12 and the Philippine Army's 27th Infantry Battalion have tightened the security cordon in the games' playing venues and also increased their deployment in the area following the bomb explosions in Cotabato City and Midsayap in Cotabato province. (Allen V. Estabillo)
