DepEd all set for Palarong Pambansa in Palawan

The Department of Education has completed all preparations for the staging of the Palarong Pambansa, a yearly sports festival participated in by some of the country's top elementary and high school athletes. This year's Palarong Pambansa will take place from April 20 to 26 in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan. DepEd issued the general technical guidelines to ensure that the annual sports event will run smoothly. "We have pulled all stops to make this year's Palaro a success," DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus said on Friday. Sports and health authorities, with the help nongovernment organizations, will take closer watch on safety and health of the athletes to prevent a repetition of last year's tragedies at the games held in Koronadal City in South Cotabato. During last year's games, scores of athletes and officials were stricken by heatstroke, two of them fatally – Carlos Mingie del Prado, principal of Marinduque High School, who had a heart attack due to prolonged exposure to the heat, and Edwin Golmatico, a teacher from Koronodal High School. As to the conduct of the games, the DepEd will implement strict measure to prevent cheating. It has also formed a National Screening and Accreditation Committee (NSAC) to look into the eligibility of athletes for the Palaro and give accreditation to qualified athletes and coaches. Athletes who excel well in the Palaro are usually honed to representat the country in international competitions. DepEd sought support from SMART Communications to allow real-time posting of game results. This is in addition to the wide-screen display of the results at the site. The games include athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, chess, football, gymnastics, sepak takraw, softball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo tennis, volleyball, archery, boxing, and arnis. There will be special games for mentally challenged and visually impaired students. Track events will also be held for the mentally challenged. Those with visual impairment will compete in the shotput and goal ball. The Palarong Pambansa is held in consonance with the National Unified Sports Program. - GMANews.TV