THE 2018 Davao Para Games, which unfurls in different venues in Davao City today, will serve as qualifying for the National Championship.

This was bared yesterday by Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) officer-in-charge Arnold Agustin during the turnover ceremony of sports equipment and event press conference held at Kadayawan Hall of The Royal Mandaya Hotel.

Agustin said the first leg was held in Tanauan City, Batangas while the Davao edition is the second leg.

"We are doing this to reach out to far-flung areas all over the country. We will then conduct a national championship wherein participants will be selected athletes from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao," Agustin, who is oversight commissioner for Philippine Sports Association of the Differently-Abled (Philspada), said.

He also said the Davao Para Games is part of the PSC's Differently-Abled Sports for Life (DAS4Life) program that aims to provide recreational and educational programs to empower Filipino people with disabilities and to build a nation that treasures and accepts people based on their abilities.

"The PSC wants to provide equal opportunities to PWD (persons with disabilities, help them become physically fit and develop self-confidence," he added.

Davao City Vice Mayor Bernard Al-Ag, meanwhile, thanked PSC for the initiative. "This year first time may support tayo (Para Games) from PSC. Regular naman ito pero with PSC mas lalakas ito."

The Davao Para Games is organized by PSC in partnership with the city government of Davao, National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) and Davao City Association of Differently Abled Persons (Adap), Inc.

From Davao City, next stop will be Benguet, Quezon City, Cagayan De Oro, Naga and Albay.

Adap, Inc. officer-in-charge Redendo Martinez, for his part, said they expect some 200 PWDs from the host city and Davao del Sur seeing action in wheelchair basketball (Brgy. 35-D covered court), volleyball for hearing impaired and chess ( University of Mindanao (UM)-Bolton), athletics for visually impaired and goal ball (People’s Park), wheelchair and standing with crutches table tennis (Open Park).

The Para Games, he added, also complements the existing sports program for the differently-abled athletes with the likes of the Kadayawan sa Dabaw Sports Festival and Araw ng Dabaw Sports Festival. (Abigail Joyce C. Cahiwat, MSU-Marawi Intern)