ILOILO City – A delegation of 933 members from Western Visayas is set to participate in the 64th Palarong Pambansa, which will be held from July 9 to July 16 in Cebu City.
The delegates, including athletes, coaches, and support staff, will travel to Cebu City this weekend with those from Panay Island and Guimaras leaving on Saturday, July 6, and those from Negros Occidental departing on Sunday, July 7.
According to Hernani Escullar Jr., the regional information officer of the Department of Education (DepEd) Region 6, an advance party from DepEd-6 has already travelled earlier this week to ensure that the billeting schools and other logistics are adequately prepared.
The Western Visayas delegation will be accommodated at Guadalupe Elementary School on V. Rama Avenue.
The delegation comprises 601 athletes, 136 coaches, assistant coaches, and chaperones, and 196 members of the management and working committees.
Among the athletes, 214 are elementary level, 346 are secondary level, and 41 are participating in Paragames.
Escullar said intensive training sessions are ongoing at the division level to sharpen the skills of athletes across various sports, including arnis, athletics, badminton, and others.
The region aims to secure the top rank at this year’s national games, motivated by their second-place finish in the previous Palarong Pambansa held in Marikina City, where they won a total of 60 gold, 45 silver, and 44 bronze medals, finishing just behind the 16-time overall champions, the National Capital Region./PN
