Tagum City is Palarong Pambansa 2015 Venue

After careful deliberation, officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) have selected Tagum City, Davao del Norte to host the 2015 Palarong Pambansa. The city beat out five other bidders – Dipolog City, Pagadian City, Koronadal City, Lanao del Norte province, and CARAGA region.

Before announcing the results of the vote, Education Secretary Br Armin Luistro FSC asked for the support of the cities that were not selected. “This is a vote for Mindanao. This year we were surprised at the number of bidders. We hope that we still have your support.”

When asked what he expected from the host Luistro replied, “The only thing we need to expect is for Tagum to deliver.” He added, “Ang maganda sa Tagum ay mukhang handa na ang lahat. Hindi na kailangan pa ng dagdag na buwang preparasyon.” The Palarong Pambansa is held in May with hosting duties rotating yearly among the island groups.

Competitive bidding

Months before the official presentation, DepEd and Philippine Sports Commission officials inspected each venue to see if the facilities and billeting areas are adequate. PSC Commissioner Jose Luis Gomez reported to the body the rating system that they used, which included international standards, distance from the main complex, power supply, and security, among others. DepEd’s Schools Sports Events and Activities Unit Head Cesar Abalon reported on the status of the billeting areas, which are evaluated based on the adequacy of rooms, bathrooms, kitchen areas and medical provisions.

Based on the criteria, Tagum City garnered the highest points. According to Gomez, the local government had already upgraded its facilities, which were used to host PSC’s Batang Pinoy competitions in 2013.

Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chair Ricardo Garcia congratulated all the bidders. “I am impressed with the way everyone conducted themselves. The PSC will definitely consider one of you to host Batang Pinoy and our other events in 2015.”

Palarong Pambansa Law

Palarong Pambansa 2015 will be the first national games to be held under the Palarong Pambansa Law (RA 10588) signed May 27, 2014, which mandates the creation of a Palarong Pambansa Board as the lead policy-making and coordinating body for the preparation and conduct of the games. The Board shall be composed of the DepEd Secretary as Chairperson, a DepEd Undersecretary, two (2) DepEd Assistant Secretaries, the Chairman of the PSC, the President of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). (DepEd) (PIA)