MANILA, Philippines — After being shelved for five years, the Philippine National Para Games returns with over 900 participants taking centerstage from November 11-14 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and PhilSports.
Philippine Paralympic Committee (PPC) and PHILSPADA president Mike Barredo on Tuesday said nine sports will be on tap for the Games — 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 2019 in Malolos, Bulacan before it was shelved due to COVID-19. But with the help of the Philippine Sports Commission, 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 November 7 followed by the classification proper for Para athletes from November 8-10.
“This is also the biggest opportunity for us to select players for the national Para team,” said Custodio in the weekly forum presented by San Miguel Corporation, 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,” added Deriada.