The 2023 Palarong Pambansa, officially known as the 63rd Palarong Pambansa, also known as Palaro 2023 and Marikina 2023, was held in Marikina, Metro Manila, from July 29 to August 5, 2023. Student-athletes from 17 athletic associations representing the 17 regions of the Philippines competed in different sporting events and disciplines. Prior to that, the Games were originally scheduled in the city for

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

but were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hosting

Preparations

Nearly three years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation, the local government of Marikina, DepEd-NCR, and the Schools Division Office of Marikina are set to host the 63rd edition of Palarong Pambansa. An additional tier called the Pre-National Qualifying Meet will be introduced to lessen the number of delegations, shorten the duration of the event, and lower the expenses. Under the new tier, delegations will be clustered into four groups based on their geographical location. The top two regional delegations per cluster will then advance to the actual Palarong Pambansa event. As such, the said new level will only feature team sports. Measurable sports will adopt the qualifying distance, time, and points set by the Palarong Pambansa. Other sports that do not apply qualifying standards in the selection of athletes and are not identified as team sports will advance directly to the Palarong Pambansa culminating competitions. The modified competition format aims to prevent the disruption of classes and to observe minimum public health and safety protocols and other relevant policies and guidelines issued. Aside from student-athletes from the 17 regional athletic associations, Filipino athletes enrolled in recognized schools overseas will also be allowed to compete in individual sports under the banner of Philippine Schools Overseas. On February 6 and April 24, Palarong Pambansa conducted a 5-day division and regional meets according to DepEd Memorandum No. 5, s. 2023, as recommended by the Palarong Pambansa Secretariat. On July 22, Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd) secretary

Sara Duterte Sara Vicenta Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio (, ; born May 31, 1978), commonly known as Inday Sara, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who is the 15th and current vice president of the Philippines. She is the third female vice president, the third ...

led the inspection of playing venues at the Marikina Sports Center prior to the press launch. She was joined in the technical inspection by Marikina Mayor

Marcelino Teodoro Marcelino "Marcy" Reyes Teodoro (born August 2, 1970), is a Filipino politician who is the 12th and incumbent Mayor of Marikina. Prior to his election as mayor, Teodoro served as the representative for Marikina's 1st congressional district fro ...

, Interior and Local Government secretary

Benhur Abalos Benjamin "Benhur" de Castro Abalos Jr. (born July 19, 1962) is a Filipino lawyer and politician serving as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government since 2022. Before his appointment as DILG secretary, he last served as the Chairman of ...

, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richard Bachmann and Marikina Sports Center administrator Angelito Llabres. Duterte and Teodoro also signed the memorandum of agreement between DepEd and the Marikina government for the hosting of Palaro 2023.

Host city

This is Marikina's first time hosting the Palarong Pambansa, and NCR's fifth hosting since the 1966 Palarong Pambansa held in Quezon City, after 54 years. Marikina will be the fourth city in NCR to stage the Palarong Pambansa after Manila, Pasig, and Quezon City (1948 and 1960, 1964, and 1966 respectively). Marikina is part of the NCR contingent and Marikina Sports Center will serve as the main venue as well as the grand opening ceremony on July 31, two days after the Games' pre-event activities (such as meetings, refreshers, and training) started, and the closing ceremony. Marikina also bids the recent editions of Palarong Pambansa and all won as one of the candidate cities:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

(runner-up to Sta. Cruz, Laguna) and 2012 (runner-up to Lingayen, Pangasinan). In history, Marikina was supposed to host the "31st" Palarong Pambansa in 1980 but was canceled. Marikina hosted the 1980 Palarong Bagong Lipunan as a substitute for the 1980 Palarong Pambansa. Marikina also previously hosted some major multi-sporting events: NCR Palaro, 2014 ASEAN School Games, 2011 UAAP Season 74,

2005 Southeast Asian Games The 2005 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 23rd Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines. This was the third time the Philippines hosted the games and its first time since 1991 S ...

, 1980 Palarong Bagong Lipunan, the first edition of

1973 Asian Athletics Championships The inaugural Asian Athletics Championships were held in 1973 at the Rodriguez Sports Center in Marikina, Rizal, Philippines from November 18–23, 1973. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal Table External linksGBR Athletics ...

and

1972 ISF Men's World Championship The 1972 ISF Men's World Championship was an international softball tournament. The tournament was held at the Rodriguez Sports Center in Marikina, Rizal, Philippines. It was the 3rd time the World Championship took place and the first time the ...

The Games

Participating regions

Tiers

A Pre-National Qualifying Meet was introduced to lessen the number of delegations, shorten the duration of the event, and lower the expenses. As such, the said new level will only feature team sports such as baseball, basketball, football, futsal, sepak takraw, football, and volleyball. Under the new tier, delegations will be clustered into four groups based on their geographical location.

Billeting areas

Schools to be used as billeting quarters for 2023 Palarong Pambansa.

Notes: ES – Elementary School, HS – High School, NHS – National High School

Sports

A total of 34 sports disciplines, including the para-games, demonstrations, and exhibition sports. It also features the Indigenous Filipino (Traditional) Games, also known as "Laro ng Lahi", the DepEd will conduct '' Kadang-kadang'', ''

Tumbang Preso ''Tumbang preso'' ("knock down the prisoner"), also known as ''tumba lata'' ("knock down the can") or ''bato lata'' ("hit the can ith a stone), is a Filipino traditional children's game. The game involves throwing a slipper at a can or bottle ...

'', and ''

Patintero ''Patintero'', also known as ''harangang-taga'' or ''tubigan'', (''Intl. Translate:'' Escape from the hell or Block the runner) is a Filipino traditional children's game. Along with ''tumbang preso'', it is one of the most popular outdoor games ...

'' on July 28, as part of 2023 Palarong Pambansa.

Venues

Playing venues to be used for 2023 Palarong Pambansa. Source
2023 Palarong Pambansa Playing Venues
/small>

Calendar

Source
2023 Palarong Pambansa Schedule of Games
/small>

Medal tally

Regular games

Demonstration games

Para games

Controversy

During the closing ceremony at the Marikina Sports Center, a portion of the drone show erroneously depicted the

Philippine flag The national flag of the Philippines ( tgl, Pambansang watawat ng Pilipinas; ilo, Nailian a bandera ti Filipinas; ceb, Nasudnong bandila ng Pilipinas; es, Bandera Nacional de Filipinas) is a horizontal List of flags by design#Bicolour, bicol ...

with its blue and red strips interchanged, a variation used in a state of war. Following the ceremony, the supplier of the drones, DroneTechPH, issued a public apology, admitting that it was unable to test the drone sequence ahead of the ceremony, citing inclement weather. On August 6, 2023, the Marikina City Government issued a statement condemning the error and announcing their intention to pursue legal action against the company.

Gallery

File:Ninoy_Aquino_Stadium_in_Malate_(Metro_Manila;_2023-08-03)_30.jpg, Rhythmic and artistic gymnastics at Rizal Memorial Coliseum File:Closing_ceremony_of_the_2023_Palarong_Pambansa_(Rizal,_Metro_Manila;_2023-08-05)_E911a_18.jpg, Farewell dance File:Clusters_delegations_sports_disciplines_(Rizal,_Metro_Manila;_2023-08-05)_E911a_25.jpg, Clusters - delegations of 34 sports disciplines File:Trophies_of_the_2023_Palarong_Pambansa_(Rizal,_Metro_Manila;_2023-08-05)_E911a_03.jpg, Trophies File:Closing_ceremony_of_the_2023_Palarong_Pambansa_(Rizal,_Metro_Manila;_2023-08-05)_E911a_25.jpg, DepEd Regional Directors File:Official_handover_turnover_of_Palarong_Pambansa_Flag_(Rizal,_Metro_Manila;_2023-08-05)_E911a_06.jpg, 2024 Palarong Pambansa host Cebu City File:Official_handover_turnover_of_Palarong_Pambansa_Flag_(Rizal,_Metro_Manila;_2023-08-05)_E911a_11.jpg, Handover of Palarong Pambansa Flag File:Official_handover_turnover_of_Palarong_Pambansa_Flag_(Rizal,_Metro_Manila;_2023-08-05)_E911a_17.jpg, Flag bearers after extinction of the Palarong Pambansa flame

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palarong Pambansa

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

2023 in Philippine sport 2023 in multi-sport events Multi-sport events cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic