After being shelved for five years, the Philippine National Para Games returns with more than 900 participants taking centerstage at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and PhilSports from Nov. 11 to 14.
Philippine Paralympic Committee (PPC) and Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled (PHILSPADA) president Mike Barredo said Tuesday the Games would feature nine sports – archery, athletics, badminton, boccia (precision ball sport), chess, powerlifting, swimming, table tennis, and wheelchair basketball.
“Our objective remains, which is to champion Para sports development and inclusion,” said Barredo, who was joined by PPC secretary general Goody Custodio and head coach Joel Deriada in the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
Barredo said the Games were last held in Malolos, Bulacan in 2019 before it was shelved due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
However, with the help of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the eighth staging will soon unfold.
Custodio said 72 cities and provinces will be represented in the Games, which will kick off with a classification seminar on Nov. 7 followed by the classification proper for Para athletes from Nov. 8 to 10.
“This is also the biggest opportunity for us to select players for the national Para team,” Custodio said in the weekly forum presented by San Miguel Corp., PSC, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, Smart/PLDT, and ArenaPlus, the country’s 24/7 sports app.
“We want to continue to instill the values of sports and discipline, courage, and equality among the participants,” added Barredo, a former PSC commissioner.
“And this is a chance for our Para athletes to go out of their comfort zones and have fun competing. To some, it’s life-changing,” Deriada said. (PR)