'E-Palarong Pambansa' to gather top esports student-athletes

MANILA, Philippines — A new national esports tournament circuit is underway, this time backed by the National Youth Commission — the E-Palarong Pambansa. 

Organized by ILO Esports, a registered youth organization of National Youth Commission-Youth Organization Registration Program (YORP), the E-Palarong Pambansa is modeled after the annual national multi-sport event "Palarong Pambansa" that features student-athletes from all over the country.

"E-Palarong Pambansa marks one of the first global shows of national government support for esports, and the hope is that it will create a stable and sustainable grassroots esports ecosystem, just like how European football leagues or NBA teams get the support they need from the state or region they represent. We have done exceptionally well in this field as a country, winning several international titles. It is thus worthwhile to investigate the feasibility of organizing an event to showcase our country's prowess in esports," ILO Esports founder Jamar Montehermoso said in a release.

The E-Palarong Pambansa will feature a total of six games (three mobile games, two PC games and a Web3 game), which will be determined by a poll before the start of the tournament circuit. The tournament hopes to promote esports as a supplementary part of the holistic development of Filipino youth by fostering self-discipline, teamwork, and competitive excellence.

Besides the tournament, E-Palarong Pambansa will also have a National Esports Shoutcaster Search, which aims to find talented voices from all over the country to provide live commentary and analysis for each match of the tournament. Each Sangguniang Kabataan Federation can nominate one shoutcaster representative per title.

The E-Palarong Pambansa will be officially launched on March 27, with the polls to determine the games beginning on March 29. Qualifiers will begin in May, with the grand finals set July 22-23 at the Iloilo Convention Center.