To Loraine Audrey Batalla, competing in the country’s largest youth sporting event was both a dream come true and a culmination of years of hard work and grit.

The 14-year old sprinter from Calamba City was part of the CALABARZON Heroes delegation who competed in the 2023 Palarong Pambansa. Batalla claimed the region’s first gold medal after placing first in the Secondary Girls 3,000-meter run with a 10:49.7 record.

“Sobrang saya ko po dahil ito po ang pinangarap kong laruin simula pa noong Elementary [student] pa lamang ako, at ngayon ay natupad na po ito. Hindi ko rin po akalain na mananalo po ako kasi sa pagkakaalam ko po ngayon [ay] iba na ang laban sa Palarong Pambansa,” she said.

Launched in 1948 as the Bureau of Public Schools-Interscholastic Athletic Association Meet (BPSIAA) or National Sports Meet, the Palarong Pambansa gathers the best young athletes in the country. It is cited as the culmination of year-long competitions which pools the regions’ best student-athletes into a single team that will compete against the other regions.

Qualifying in the regional team is considered prestigious that Lorraine and her coaches trained for months, leading up to the preliminary competition or the division meet.

Aware that she will face tough competition in pursuit of her Palarong Pambansa dream, Batalla was thankful that behind her was a strong support system composed of her coaches, teammates, and family.

“Naging motivation ko po sa paglalaro ang mga magulang ko. Dahil po sa tiwala at suporta na ibinigay nila sa akin, napagtagumpayan ko ang laro ko sa regional meet at nakapasok sa Palarong Pambansa. Isa na rin po yung coach ko, dahil sa tulong na ipinaranas nila sa akin ay naging part po ako ng Palarong Pambansa.”

In January, Undersecretary Revsee Escobedo signed DepEd Memorandum No. 5, s. 2023 announcing the resumption of division, regional, and the clustered pre-national qualifying meets leading to the Palaro. Per the memorandum, division meets were supposed to take place on February 6 to 10, 2023 to coincide with the midyear break, while pre-national qualifying meets were slated on April 24 to 28, 2023 considered the end of academic quarter 3.

The pre-national qualifying meet features team sports such as baseball, basketball, football, futsal, sepaktakraw, softball, and volleyball. The regions were clustered into four (4) based on their geographical location, placing CALABARZON in Cluster 2 alongside MIMAROPA, Bicol Region, and the National Capital Region.

Joseph Tito Ocampo, assistant athletic manager of the CALABARZON Heroes, said the team underwent careful selection, having competed at the 2023 CALABARZON regional athletic meet months before. It served as a pre-qualifying competition for the best athletes from the DepEd Calabarzon’s 23 schools division offices.

Ocampo explained: “Kaya nang makuha namin yung final result sa mga nag-qualify sa elementary level, medyo kaunti ang nakapasok na mga bata sa Athletics at Swimming. ‘Yung dalawang event na iyon ang inaasahan namin na makakapagbigay ng maraming gold medals sa CALABARZON at yun ang naging epekto sa aming ranking sa Palarong Pambansa.”

“Nung tiningnan ko yung data ng result sa mga medal na nakuha ng Region 4-A, NCR at ng Western Visayas, doon kami naiwan sa elementary level dahil kaunti ang nag-qualify doon dalawang event na talagang pagkukuhanan namin ng medalya.”

Despite the hurdles they faced, Ocampo said they were still grateful that CALABARZON remained as the top three competing regions, right behind the National Capital Region (NCR) and Western Visayas.

For six years, CALABARZON retained its position among the three top performing regions in the national sports tilt.

Loida Nidea, DepEd CALABARZON Assistant Regional Director, said the education sector is preparing for the school opening on August 29 with the Matatag agenda under its Secretary, Vice President Sara Duterte which prioritizes classroom instructions during face-to-face classes.

“Schools have their sports programs in place na pwedeng ma-enhance pa to prepare the children. In fact, I suggested to RD [Alberto Escobarte] [na] gagawa kami ng data analysis and to strengthen each division kung ano ang kaya nilang gawing sports para sa Palarong Pambansa ay mayroon na silang organized team.”

“Aware ang division offices kung ano ang sports na magaling sila. Kaya lamang hindi lahat ay mayroong organized teams kung saan sport sila magaling.”

Eduarda Zapanta, human resources and development division chief and athletic manager, said, “Yung scheduling ay kino-complement pa ng ating mga coach para sa ating mga bata. Compared before na pwede na siyang matagal sa training, pero medyo hindi natutukuan ang engagement sa klase. Ngayong taon, we were conscious in pushing for time for the students [in the classroom].”

Following her stint at the Palarong Pambansa, Batalla is preparing for the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association, Inc. (PATAFA) weekly relay.

Currently in Grade 7, she advised other students aspiring to compete in the Palarong Pambansa to remain disciplined and to train in their chosen sport.

“Ang advise ko lang po ay kung gusto nilang makapasok sa Palarong Pambansa ay magtraining lang po [at] magkaroon ng disiplina sa sarili.”

Cebu City will host the 2024 Palarong Pambansa after bidding against the provinces of Antique and Negros Occidental. The three Visayas city/provinces had previously hosted the Palarong Pambansa, with Cebu City hosting twice in 1954 and 1995, Antique in 2017, and the Province of Negros Occidental in 1971, 1974, 1979, 1998, and 2000.(PB)