The Palarong Pambansa (
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
for "National Games") is an annual multi-sport event involving student-athletes from 17 regions of the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. The event, started in 1948, is organized and governed by the
Department of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
.
Student-athletes from public and private schools at elementary and secondary levels can compete, provided they qualified by winning at their regional meet. For young Filipino student-athletes, Palarong Pambansa is the culmination of school sports competition, which start with local school intramurals, followed by the congressional district, provincial, and regional athletic meets.
The objectives of the Palaro are:
* To promote physical education and sports as an integral part of the basic education curriculum for holistic development of the youth;
* Inculcate the spirit of discipline, teamwork, excellence, fair play, solidarity, sportsmanship, and other values inherent in sports;
* Promote and achieve peace by means of sports;
* Widen the base for talent identification, selection, recruitment, training and exposure of elementary pupils and secondary students to serve as a feeder to the National Sports Association (NSA) for international competitions; and
* Provide a database for a valid and universal basis to further improve the school sports development programs.
The legal basis of the Palarong Pambansa is stipulated in the provision of the 1987
Philippine Constitution
The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'', Spanish: ''Constitución de la República de Filipinas'') is the constitution or the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines ...
, Article XIV, Section 19.
History
The first edition of the games was held in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
in 1948. Before it was called Palarong Pambansa, it was dubbed as Bureau of Public Schools-Interscholastic Athletics Association Games (BPISAA). It continued yearly until it was cancelled in 1957 due to the death of President
Ramon Magsaysay
Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh president of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an aircraft disaster on March 17, 1957. An automo ...
. In 1958,
Tagbilaran
Tagbilaran, officially the City of Tagbilaran ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Tagbilaran), is a 3rd class component city and capital of the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 104,976 people.
Encompassing a la ...
,
Bohol
Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...
hosted the 10th edition of the game. The game was again cancelled in 1972 when President
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
declared
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
. In 1973, the last BPISAA which was held in
Vigan
Vigan, officially the City of Vigan ( ilo, Siudad ti Vigan; fil, Lungsod ng Vigan), is a 4th class component city and capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,935 people.
Loc ...
,
Ilocos Sur
Ilocos Sur, officially the Province of Ilocos Sur ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Sur; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Sur), is a province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital o ...
.
In 1974, the Bureau of Public Schools-Interscholastic Athletics Association Games was renamed Palarong Pambansa.
In 1980, 1984-1987 and 1999 Palarong Pambansa was not conducted. In 1980 Palarong Pambansa was substituted with another game called Palarong Bagong Lipunan hosted by
Marikina
Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina ( fil, Lungsod ng Marikina), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 456,159 people.
It is loca ...
. Between 1984 and 1987 the event's cancellation was due to the People Power Revolution.
Misamis Oriental
Misamis Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Misamis; tl, Silangang Misamis), officially the Province of Misamis Oriental, is a province located in the region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines. Its capital, largest city and provincial center is th ...
and
Negros Occidental
Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...
have hosted Palarong Pambansa four times each, more than any other provinces.
Misamis Oriental
Misamis Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Misamis; tl, Silangang Misamis), officially the Province of Misamis Oriental, is a province located in the region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines. Its capital, largest city and provincial center is th ...
hosted the Palarong Pambansa in 1975, 1977, 1978 and 1988.
Negros Occidental
Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...
hosted the games in 1974, 1979, 1998 and 2000.
Lingayen
Lingayen, officially the Municipality of Lingayen ( pag, Baley na Lingayen; ilo, Ili ti Lingayen; tgl, Bayan ng Lingayen), is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has ...
,
Pangasinan
Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan ( pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Pangasinan, ; ilo, Probinsia ti Pangasinan; tl, Lalawigan ng Pangasinan), is a coastal province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capit ...
has hosted three times, in 1959, 1999 and 2012.
Starting with the 2015 edition of the games, the Palarong Pambansa Board, which was created due to the Palarong Pambansa Law signed in May 2014, shall be mainly responsible for the preparation and conduct of the games. The board shall be the main policy-making and coordinating body of the annual tournament.
Participating regions
The regions participating in the annual Palarong Pambansa has become bigger as some regions have split. For instance, Southern Tagalog Regional Athletics Association (STRAA) represented the 10 provinces of Southern Tagalog in the later Palarong Pambansa. But it was divided into two, which is now Region 4-A or the
Calabarzon
Calabarzon (), formally known as the Southern Tagalog Mainland, is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region IV-A. The region comprises five provinces: Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal; and one highly urban ...
region and Region 4-B or the
Mimaropa
Mimaropa (usually capitalized in official government documents), formally known as the Southwestern Tagalog Region, is an administrative region in the Philippines. It was also formerly but still colloquially designated as Region IV-B until 2016 ...
region. Both are taking part in Palarong Pambansa as different teams or regions.
Creation of administrative and autonomous regions such as
Bangsamoro
ar, منطقة بانجسامورو ذاتية الحكم فى مسلمى مينداناو
, native_name =
, settlement_type = Autonomous region
, anthem = Bangsamoro Hymn
, image_skyline ...
(competing since the 2019 edition) and
Cordillera Administrative Region
The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR; ilo, Rehion/Deppaar Administratibo ti Kordiliera; fil, Rehiyong Pampangasiwaan ng Cordillera), also known as the Cordillera Region and Cordillera (), is an administrative region in the Philippines, ...
and splitting of big region into new regions like the Southern Mindanao, Central Visayas and Western Visayas causes more teams. All these reasons made the 18 regions participating in Palarong Pambansa.
Defunct regions that have competed in the Palarong Pambansa include the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ( tl, Rehiyong Awtonomo ng Muslim Mindanao; ar, الحكم الذاتي الاقليمي لمسلمي مندناو ''Al-ḥukm adh-dhātī al-'iqlīmī li-muslimī Mindanāu''; abbreviated as ARMM) was ...
(which has been replaced by Bangsamoro) and the short-lived
Negros Island Region
The Negros Island Region ( hil, Rehiyon sang Pulo sang Negros; ceb, Rehiyon sa Pulo sa Negros), also abbreviated and officially designated as NIR (unofficially ''Region XVIII''), was a short-lived administrative region in the Philippines which ...
.
A color coding system was introduced to uniquely identify each region based on their designated colors. Here are the participating regions with their assigned colors.
Sports
Currently, there are 20 sports disciplines and a special event being contested at the Palarong Pambansa. Except for archery (which is not played at the elementary level), competition at the events and disciplines are at the elementary and secondary levels.
In the
2013 Palarong Pambansa in
Dumaguete
Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dumaguete; fil, Lungsod ng Dumaguete), is a 3rd income class component city and the capital of the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a p ...
, three demonstration sports were played. These were futsal, wushu and billiards. Below are sports competed at the Palarong Pambansa.
The Department of Education planned to add more events by 2017, particularly for the people with special needs, including the 50-meter and 100-meter runs for athletics and chess for the blind.
*
Archery
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...
*
![Arnis pictogram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Arnis_pictogram.svg)
Arnis
Arnis, also known as Kali or Eskrima/Escrima, is the national martial art of the Philippines. The three are roughly interchangeable umbrella terms for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines (" Filipino Martial Arts", or FMA), which em ...
*
Aquatics
Aquatics may refer to:
*Aquatic sports in the Olympics and other international competitions, including the disciplines of swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, and open water swimming
*Water-related sports more broadly (including boa ...
*
Athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...
*
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...
*
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
*
Boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
*
Chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
*
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
*
Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football.
Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...
*
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
*
![Sepaktakraw pictogram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Sepaktakraw_pictogram.svg)
Sepak Takraw
Sepak takraw, or Sepaktakraw, also called kick volleyball, is a team sport played with a ball made of rattan or synthetic plastic between two teams of two to four players on a court resembling a badminton court. It is similar to volleyball and ...
*
Softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
*
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
*
Taekwondo
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...
*
Tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
*
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
*Demonstration Sports
**
Billiards
Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as .
There are three major subdivisions of ...
**
Wushu
**
Wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
**
Aerobic Gymnastics
Aerobic gymnastics or sport aerobics is a competitive sport originating from traditional aerobics in which complex, high-intensity movement patterns and elements of varying difficulty are performed to music.
Nature of the game
The performance ...
**
Dancesport
Dancesport is competitive ballroom dance, ballroom dancing, as contrasted to social or exhibition dancing. In the case of Para dancesport, at least one of the dancers is in a wheelchair.
Dancesport events are sanctioned and regulated by dancesp ...
**
Pencak Silat
*Special events
**
Aquatics
Aquatics may refer to:
*Aquatic sports in the Olympics and other international competitions, including the disciplines of swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, and open water swimming
*Water-related sports more broadly (including boa ...
**
Bocce
(, or , ), sometimes anglicized as bocce ball, bocci or boccie, is a ball sport belonging to the boules family. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is closely related to British bowls and French , with a common ancestry from ancien ...
**
Goalball
Goalball is a team sport designed specifically for athletes with a vision impairment. Participants compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded inside of it into the opponents' goal. The ball is thrown by hand a ...
**
Track Events
Note:
* Introduced as demonstration sports in 2013
* Introduced as demonstration sports in 2015
* Introduced as demonstration sports in 2017
* Elevated as a regular sports discipline in 2017
Arnis
Arnis, also known as Kali or Eskrima/Escrima, is the national martial art of the Philippines. The three are roughly interchangeable umbrella terms for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines (" Filipino Martial Arts", or FMA), which em ...
was included among the priority sports in Palarong Pambansa and begun in 2010, in accordance to Republic Act No. 9850 in 2009, signed by former President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...
.
''
Editions
Note:
*
1 Hosting of Palarong Pambansa is from
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
and then
Visayas
The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao ...
and then back to
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
and then
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
. This order will be repeated. If Visayas have no bids to host the Palaro, then Mindanao will have the rights to host and/or vice versa. If Luzon have no bids, Metro Manila will be going to host the Palaro.
*
2 Negros Island Region (NIR) is a newly created region in 2015 which consists of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental. Any existing previous list and records should be counted for the previous regions they are affiliated with otherwise, their records and statistics should be counted for their present region at the time of their creation unless otherwise specified.
*
3 In 2016, the
Department of Education (DepEd) used the Olympic Medal System in determining the championship title and ranking position of each region.
*
4 The original host was in
Occidental Mindoro
Occidental Mindoro ( tl, Kanlurang Mindoro), officially the Province of Occidental Mindoro, is a province in the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. The province occupies the western half of the island of Mindoro. Its capital is Mambura ...
, but was forced to back-out due to damages brought to the province by
Typhoon Tisoy.
*
5After the withdrawal of
Occidental Mindoro
Occidental Mindoro ( tl, Kanlurang Mindoro), officially the Province of Occidental Mindoro, is a province in the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. The province occupies the western half of the island of Mindoro. Its capital is Mambura ...
as hosts,
Marikina
Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina ( fil, Lungsod ng Marikina), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 456,159 people.
It is loca ...
replaced as host city for 2020, but the 2020 Palaro was cancelled due to
coronavirus pandemic in the Philippines.
However,
DepEd
The Department of Education (abbreviated as DepEd; fil, Kagawaran ng Edukasyon) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for ensuring access to, promoting equity in, and improving the quality of basic education. It ...
has announced that Marikina will retain hosting rights for the 2021 edition of the event, with
Negros Occidental
Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...
and
Sorsogon
Sorsogon, officially the Province of Sorsogon (Bikol language, Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Sorsogon''; Waray language, Waray: ''Probinsya han Sorsogon''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sorsogon), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines locat ...
's hosting moved to 2022 and 2023, respectively.
List of hosts
See also
*
Culture of the Philippines
The culture of the Philippines is characterized by cultural diversity. Although the multiple ethnic groups of the Philippine archipelago have only recently established a shared Filipino national identity, their cultures were all shaped by the g ...
*
2011 POC-PSC National Games
References
External links
Official WebsiteFormer Website2015 Palarong Pambansa official website
{{International multi-sport events
Student sport in the Philippines
Philippines, Palarong Pambansa
Recurring sporting events established in 1948
Multi-sport events in the Philippines
National youth sports competitions
1948 establishments in the Philippines
Annual sporting events in the Philippines
Youth sport in the Philippines