Olympic committee chief Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. would like to see the Palarong Pambansa become a vital component of the Philippine Sports Commission’s grassroots development program.
Cojuangco said the Philippine Olympic Committee will make a pitch to transfer the Palarong Pambansa from the education department to the government sports agency.
And once it pushes through, Cojuangco said national sports associations should have direct control on the Palaro, the country’s premiere multi-event meet for elementary and high school athletes.
Cojuangco explained that the hands-on involvement of the NSAs has a lot to do with identifying talent and keeping these athletes in the training pool for the national team.
“The Palaro has no use if the NSAs are not involved,” said Cojuangco. “There’s no continuity on the progress of these athletes after competing in the Palaro.”
After the stint of promising athletes in the Palaro, Cojuangco said these talents should be absorbed by the training pool to sustain their growth as future members of the national team.
“They just compete and compete without any clear path of where they should be going,” said Cojuangco.
Supervised by the DepEd, the operations of the Palaro are handled by school officials and teachers from the 17 regions throughout the nation.
The Palaro was briefly moved to the PSC during the term of former President Joseph Estrada, but was reverted to DepEd under former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The transfer of the Palaro from the DepEd to the PSC requires the approval of President Aquino through an executive order.
Cojuangco said the Batang Pinoy, another talent discovery program for athletes 13 years old and below, should be merged with the Palaro.
“If you ask me, Batang Pinoy and Palaro must be combined. There are good points in these tournaments that should be properly encouraged,” said Cojuangco. June Navarro, Phil. Daily Inquirer
