LAOAG City—President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos will be around to grace this year’s Palarong Pambansa inauguration on Saturday evening in Ilocos Norte.
Marcos and Department of Education secretary Edgardo “Sonny” Angara will be the guests of honors during a three-hour rites at the Ferdinand Marcos Stadium in Laoag.
As Palaro hosts, the organizers will honor one of their own in legendary swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso, the first Filipino to win a medal in the Olympic Games.
Known as the “Ilocano Shark,” Yldefonso is also the first Southeast Asian to win an Olympic medal, earning bronze in the 200-meter breaststroke in both the 1928 Amsterdam and 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Some15,675 athletes and coaches will take part when action officially begins on Monday, and with 16 gold medals up for grabs in athletics.
The first will come from the secondary girls’ 3000-meter event.
Organizers said they have spent more that P1.6 billion to host the games, with more than P500 million coming from the Department of Education.
Around P1.1 billion have been spent by the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte to get the Marcos Stadium spruced, along with the other venues that will be used the weeklong meet.
Ilocos Norte Sports Development office chief Helen Rose Domingo said both Vice Gov. Matthew Manotoc and Laoag City Mayor Michael Keon have been hands-on in their preparation for the games.
“We’ve been taking all their advice. Being sportsmen, hindi magiging successful ang staging nito without inputs from both of them,” said Domingo.
The National Capital Region is gunning for its 18th straight Palaro overall title after dominating the Cebu edition last year with a 98-66-74 gold-silver-bronze medal tally.
