“WESTERN Visayas will be the team to beat in this year’s Palarong Pambansa,” said Education Assistant Revsee Escobedo during the opening rites of the Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association (WVRAA) Meet at the Iloilo Sports Complex in Iloilo City on Sunday.
He said that while other regions are looking to improve their standing in the 2018 Palarong Pambansa, with some aiming to finish behind the National Capital Region or Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon), he believes that the athletes and coaches of WVRAA will shine brighter and emerge champions in many sports disciplines in the 61st Palaro in Vigan in Ilocos Sur.
“It’s because Negros Occidental, the Negros Slashers, the formidable Negros Occidental contingent is now under Western Visayas Region. In the history of the Palarong Pambansa, Western Visayas has been the perennial runner-up to NCR,” he said.
In last year’s Palaro, Western Visayas finished No. 3 followed by the defunct Negros Island Region, where Negros Occidental was part of, at No. 4.
Escobedo said the annual sports event is not only for competition or for producing champions or winning gold medals.
“As one of the components of the K12 program, sports have the key role in the development of mental, physical, psychological and social fitness of the learners. For this reason, we in the Department of Education make sure that the annual sports event will meet the objectives by mobilizing our modest resources,” he added.
Escobedo added that one of the provisions in the Palarong Pambansa Act of 2013 is to promote physical education and encourage sports programs to foster self-discipline, teamwork, and excellence for the development of a healthy and alert citizenry.
Negros Occidental Second District Board Member Salvador Escalante introduced the province’s monicker in this week-long competition.
“Western Visayas, Negros Occidental is back. From the sugar capital of the Philippines, the emerging organic farm capital and emerging sporting capital of the country, I would like to present to you the Negros Slashers,” he said.
A total of 3,688 delegates from the six provinces in Western Visayas are competing in 25 events from February 18 to 23.
