BACOLOD City – Seventeen local government units (LGUs) from Negros Occidental will participate in the Visayas leg of the Philippine Sports Commission’s (PSC) Indigenous Peoples (IP) Games from September 28 to 29 in Bago City.
The two-day event will feature games like bangkaw, pana, palo sebo, tumba patis, and six more indigenous games identified by the host city of Bago.
Also part of the event are the IP Forum, a public discussion on the importance of IP communities and the need to promote local culture particularly to the younger generation, and IP photo contest which will showcase photo entries highlighting moments during the games proper.
“We would like to acknowledge our LGU partner and host, Bago City, headed by Mayor Nicholas Yulo, together with Vice Mayor Torres, for wholeheartedly accepting the invitation to hold the Visayas leg of the IP Games this year in their city,” said PSC Commissioner Matthew Gaston.
The first leg of this year’s IP Games was held in Salcedo, Ilocos Sur last April. The third leg in Mindanao will be hosted by General Santos City this October as part of the celebration of the IP month.
The IP Games is held in partnership with the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) and LGUs to expand the reach of the program.
The PSC has been organizing the IP Games since 2018 following the United Nations Educational and Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s appeal for the preservation of the cultural heritage of the world. The Games made a successful comeback in Palawan in November 2023 after the COVID-19 pandemic./PN
