Palarong Pambansa 2006

Over the weekend...we trooped to the Metro Naga Sports Complex to witness the opening ceremonies of this year's Palarong Pambansa. The colorful spectacle, confetti shower, fun performances, inspiring messages and all types of sports uniform were worth the one-hour drive amidst the summer heat. The Palaro brought back fond memories: when I used to work at a local media station (we took part in the grand yet tiring coverage of this sports event).

VP Noli de Castro to Formally Declare Open
Palarong Pambansa 2006
Source: www.naga.gov.ph

NAGA CITY – Vice President Noli de Castro will formally declare open the Palarong Pambansa 2006 during colorful ceremonies that will start at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 7, at the Metro Naga Sports Complex here. The vice president as guest of honor and speaker will deliver his message after he is formally introduced by Department of Education OIC Secretary Fe A. Hidalgo to an enthusiastic huge crowd of athletes, guests and spectators. Some 6,000 young athletes from the country’s 17 regions will vie for top honors in various sports disciplines during the weeklong scholastic games, considered the biggest of its kind in the country. Host Naga City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo will welcome the guests after the hoisting of the Philippine flag and the Palarong Pambansa banner with Secretary Hidalgo. Inspirational messages from Sen. Francis Pangilinan and Bicolano Budget Secretary Nonoy Andaya, Jr. will follow. Most Rev. Leonardo Z. Legaspi, Archbishop of Caceres (Naga used to be called Nueva Caceres during the Spanish colonial period) will give the invocation. SEA Games athletes and Naga’s swimming sensations Gabriel Gerard Bordado, Ernest Lorenz Dee, and John Bryle Zapata will run the oval with the torch to light the urn, signaling to everyone that the games have been formally opened.

Bicolano SEA Games bronze medalist Bennie Brydon Sy Jr will lead the athlete’s oath of amateurism which will be followed immediately by the release of doves and balloons for peace and unity thru sports. This year’s edition is the third to be hosted by Naga City. The first time was in 1997 when then President Fidel V. Ramos approved the construction of the Metro Naga Sports Complex and formally opened the games.In 2002, Naga against hosted the Games with then newly-installed Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as guest of honor and speaker. This year’s theme is: “Pursuing Excellence for National Solidarity and Global Competitiveness.”