The Palarong Pambansa is scheduled to return this year after nearly three years of absence since the Covid-19 pandemic started, the Department of Education (DepEd) said.
The DepEd said the multi-sport competition will be held in Marikina City from July 29 to August 5, 2023.
The DepEd Memorandum No. 5, series of 2023 or the Conduct of the 2023 Palarong Pambansa showed the Division Meets will happen on February 6 to 10 while the Regional Meets will be set on April 24 to 28, as advised by the Palarong Pambansa Secretariat.
The department said in a statement that it will add a new tier called the “Pre-National Qualifying Meet” to “lessen the number of delegations, shorten the duration of the event, and lower the expenses to be incurred—all without sacrificing the level of play.”
Delegations will be divided into four groups according to their geographical location. The top two regional delegations per cluster will continue to the actual Palarong Pambansa event, DepEd added.
Cluster 1 will be composed of the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); Cluster 2 for Calabarzon, Mimaropa, National Capital Region (NCR), and Bicol Region; Cluster 3 for Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula; and Cluster 4 for Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen, Caraga, and Bangsamoro Region.
— Ronald Espartinez