Senate OKs Palaro bill on second reading

FILE PHOTO: Facade of the Senate building, GSIS Complex, Pasay City. INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON

The government is making sure that identifying future sports heroes won’t be hit-or-miss, approving Senate Bill No. 2514, or the Philippine National Games (PNG) bill, on second reading following the proposed inclusion of significant amendments as it moves a step closer to being passed into law.

“This is very important in our quest to consistently discover more Filipino athletes capable of qualifying to the Olympics,’’ said Sen. Bong Go, the principal sponsor and author of the measure.

“Since the PNG serves as a national mini-Olympics, potential athletes from far-flung areas will now have a platform to showcase their talents on a regular basis in their bid to compete for the national team,’’ added the Senate committee chair for sports and health.

Unpredictable

The hosting of the PNG, which is usually bankrolled by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) in collaboration with the national sports associations under the Philippine Olympic Committee, has become unpredictable in previous years.

The PSC finally staged the PNG, featuring the majority of the 30 Olympic sports, last year at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila and at PhilSports in Pasig City, five years after being stored in the freezer following the 2018 edition in Cebu City.

Once the national games become law, it will be held consistently every two years just in time before every Olympic qualification cycle with a budget of its own from the national government through the PSC.

The proposed bill includes the PNG’s role as one of the country’s national sports competitions apart from the annual Palarong Pambansa, the national sports fest for elementary and high school student-athletes, under the Department of Education.

The PNG is open to all aspiring national team wannabes. INQ