| Bacolod City, Philippines | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 |
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'06 draw 1,000 athletes
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About 1,000 athletes are expected to see action in the 2006 Palaro Ng Mga Batang Negros at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City, from April 22 to May 1. The competitors from the different cities and towns in Negros Occidental will be vying for the titles in athletics, boxing, taekwondo and the Mambukal race, Manuela de Oro, officer-in-charge of the Provincial Sports and Development Office, said. De Oro said he also plans to include table tennis, swimming and chess in the calendar of events if the budget will be increased when the Panaad Executive Committee meets today. The P103,800 allocation for the 2005 edition of the PALABAN competitions is almost assured to be retained, but it needs to be hiked if swimming, chess and table tennis should be lined up, he added. He said it will only be the second staging of the provincial-based hostilities after it was not held in 2004 because of lack of budget from the Provincial Government. PALABAN was launched during the term of former Gov. Rafael Coscolluela, the current presidential adviser for Western Visayas, when Efren Timitman was the chairman of the PSDO. The provincial-based competitions will be staged in April as part of the Panaad Sa Negros Festival, De Oro said. Meanwhile, De Oro said that the PSDO's proposed 2006 budget of P60,000 for its provincial mass-based sports program is being deliberated on by the provincial government, headed by Gov. Joseph Maraņon. The budget will be used for the swimming, athletics and boxing programs of the PSDO in the different cities and towns in Negros for this year, he added. He is also pushing for the inclusion of table tennis and taekwondo in the 2006 grassroots project that would also mean a higher budget proposal. The PSDO launched its boxing, swimming and athletics programs in the cities of Kabankalan, Bago, Sagay, Escalante and Talisay and in Ilog town last year.*CIT |
