PALARONG PANLALAWIGAN 2018 KICKS OFF IN NARRA
The week-long 2018 Palarong Panlalawigan kicked off in Narra town Sunday, where over 6,000 athletes from 22 towns in Palawan will compete in various sports events. Grace Estefano, Department of Education (DepEd)-Palawan education program specialist and information officer, said the annual sports event has a budget of P10.3 million sourced from the Special Educational Fund (SEF). This year’s edition which will run from November 4-9 has the theme “2018 Provincial Meet: Converges Youth Power, Builds Sustainable Future.” Twenty sports events that will be disputed by the competing athletes include arnis, baseball, basketball, billiards, boxing, chess, football, and futsal. Winners will represent the province in the MIMAROPA Regional Athletic Association Meet next year, she said. “We are expecting na maging maganda ang kalabasan nito provincial meet. Alam natin na sobrang naghanda ang bawat partisipante kasama ang ibang delegates. Dito rin tayo kukuha o pipili ng magiging representative natin sa MIMAROPA meet sa susunod na taon. Kaya dapat mapili silang maigi,” Estefano told Palawan News Sunday. The Palawan Provincial Police Office (PPO) has implemented strict security measures to ensure the safety of the athletes, officials, and audience. “Nag-coordinate na tayo sa lahat ng security agencies natin. Napakaraming participants kaya kailangan natin talagang i-consider ang safety and security ng bawat isa,” Estefano added. Narra Mayor Lucena Demaala said it is the 10th time they are hosting the provincial meet. “We are glad na tayo ulit ang nag-host ng event na ito. This is the first time din na napakaraming pinadala na mga delegations ng bawat munisipyo. We thank our governor (Jose Alvarez) and all mayors for extending their help to make this possible,” Demaala said. Demaala said the town of Kalayaan was supposed to participate in the event for the first time, but due to unavailability of a vessel from the island, its delegates were unable to attend. In the 2017 edition, Narra emerged as the overall champion in the secondary level while Roxas town topped the elementary division. Palawan Governor Jose Chaves Alvarez, Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, and former Special Assistant for the President Bong Go were the guests during the opening.