2010 Palaro opens in Tarlac with MVP as guest speaker

The 2010 Palarong Pambansa will have businessman and top sports patron Manny V. Pangilinan as one of the guest speakers when the annual multi-sports meet opens on Sunday at the Tarlac Recreational Park in San Jose town. Aside from being a guest speaker, Pangilinan’s will also use the week-long national games as part of his quest to find and help develop promising young athletes – including those from far-flung provinces – to become future RP team members. "Chairman MVP (Pangilinan) is passionate in his desire to help upgrade, improve the standards of our Palarong Pambansa," said Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) secretary general and Smart Sports president Patrick Gregorio. "At the same time, it would help some of our NSAs identify talented young athletes for boxing, basketball, taekwondo and in other sports," he added. Tarlac Gov. Vic Yap, newly-appointed Department of Education Secretary Mona Valisno, and former Dep-Ed and now Trade and Industry Sec. Jesli Lapus will also attend the opening ceremony. Tarlac is hosting the meet for the first time in the 53-year history of the Palaro. Athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, boxing, chess, football, gymnastics (artistic and rhythmic), sepak takraw, softball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis and volleyball will be played in both divisions while archery and arnis will be disputed by high school students. Other playing venues are the Tarlac Plazuela in Tarlac City, the Victoria covered court in Victoria town, Sunrise Subdivision, Lapuz Coliseum, Bayanihan Institute, Provincial Capitol gym, Hacienda Luisita, Paniqui Court, San Sebastian Court, Diwa ng Tarlac Park, Nolcom Park, Don Bosco, San Isidro Covered Court, CLDH Covered Court, San Rafael Covered Court and the Ecumenical Christian College. – GMANews.TV