THE waiting game for Cebu City is over.
On Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, Department of Education (DepEd) Assistant Secretary for Operations Francis Cesar Bringas announced that it won the bid to host the Palarong Pambansa 2024 during the closing ceremony of this year’s Palaro at the Marikina Sports Center in Marikina City, Metro Manila.
The other two bidders were Negros Occidental and Antique.
Over 12,000 athletes and coaches and an additional 25,000 family members of the participants are expected to converge in the city for the event, which Cebu City last hosted three decades ago.
Cebu City Councilor Donaldo “Dondon” Hontiveros, in a previous interview, had said that hosting the Palaro will not only have a positive impact on the sports industry in Cebu, but the arrival of thousands of participants will boost the tourism and economic climate in the entire Cebu island.
Marikina City Mayor Marcy Teodoro turned over the Palarong Pambansa flag to Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama after the announcement.
Palarong Pambansa 2024 is expected to be held in July.
Cebu City built the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC), then called the Abellana Sports Complex, to serve as the main venue when it hosted the Palarong Pambansa in 1994.
Cebu also hosted the Palaro, which started in 1948, in 1954.
Rama, in his speech, said Cebu City is getting ready to host the Palaro next year.
“I am standing here elated, touched and thankful in behalf of Cebu City. I brought... all officialdom in the field of sports. We are all here just to bring to all of you how ready Cebu City is to become the next host of Palarong Pambansa 2024,” he said.
Preparations and goals
Rama said hosting the annual multi-sport event is “a huge task and responsibility,” but he assured the City is willing to rise to the occasion.
He said the City is collaborating with the private sector, which is investing in the construction of new and modern facilities in the city.
Goals
Cebu City Sports Commissioner John Pages, in an interview on Saturday, said they will hold a planning session with key stakeholders to form the Palarong Pambansa 2024 organizing committee.
Pages said some of the goals identified by the City and the commission for the Palaro next year include:
• Playing venues to meet national or international standards;
• Comfortable billeting quarters for the athletes and officials;
• Ample accommodations for the visitors;
• Good transportation system available for all;
• Spectacular opening and closing ceremonies;
• Sinulog-like festivities and entertainment for the delegates;
• Plenty of options for guests to explore Cebu; and
• Inspiring athletes to want to qualify for Palaro 2024, and inspiring non-athletes to get into sports.
Pages said they will also target to complete the renovation and repair works of the CCSC by the end of 2023.
City Administrator Collin Rosell, in an interview on May 21, said the City Government allocated P59 million for the improvement of the CCSC.
The three-decade-old facility was closed to the public on May 18 to give way for its rehabilitation.
Rosell said the City will renovate, repair and improve the amenities in CCSC, including the pool, rubberized track oval, grandstand, as well as the rest rooms and the parking lot.
Billeting quarters
Rama said preparations in the sporting venues have already started to make them top-caliber, and make the billeting quarters become a “home away from home.”
The City eyes to use 22 schools in the city as billeting quarters: Abellana National School, Banilad Elementary School, CCDCA Gothong Memorial Elementary and National High School, City Central Elementary and Night High School, Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. Memorial National High School, Don Vicente Rama Memorial Elementary School, Guadalupe Elementary School, Labangon Elementary School, Lahug Elementary and Night High School, Mabolo Elementary School, Mabolo National High School, Mambaling Elementary and Night High School, Punta Princesa Elementary and Night High School, Ramon Duterte Memorial National High School, Regino Mercado Elementary and Night High School, San Nicolas Elementary School, Talamban Elementary School, Talamban National High School, Tejero Elementary and Night High School, Tisa II Elementary School, Tisa National High School and Zapatera Elementary and National High School.
Sports events
Palaro has 27 sports events: athletics, swimming, archery, basketball, volleyball, softball, baseball, football, futsal, sepak takraw, boxing, wrestling, taekwondo, wushu, pencak silat, table tennis, tennis, badminton, bocce, goal ball, para athletics and para swimming, billiard, chess, dancesports, gymnastics, and arnis.
Nineteen delegations from around the country are expected to join Palarong Pambansa 2024.
Rama assured that the Palarong Pambansa 2024 will be a “celebration of unity, sportsmanship, and the indomitable spirit of our youth.”
He said Cebu City will showcase the best of its culture, food, hospitality and people in general.
Pages, for his part, said their preparations to host next year’s Palaro began as early as last year.
He said Rama’s involvement was a key factor in winning the bid.
“He spearheaded our numerous meetings. When the team made the presentation bid last July 14 before the Palaro Board, Mayor Mike was our team captain,” he added.