Binay graces Palaro opening

source: http://mb.com.ph

DIPOLOG CITY, Philippines (PIA) – The Palarong Pambansa 2011 in Dapitan City formally opened over the weekend with Vice President Jejomar Binay as guest of honor.

Before proceeding to Dapitan, the Vice President attended the soft opening of the Zamboanga del Norte Convention and Sports Center, a newly built sports facility of the provincial government in this city where some of the events of the Palarong Pambansa will be played.

Region 9 office of the Department of Education (DepEd-9) Director Walter O. Albos, the host region, disclosed that all the athletic delegations from 17 regions are already in the province.

“Some have arrived here a week before the scheduled Palaro,” said Albos.

The billeting quarters of the athletic delegations are spread in the various public schools in the cities of Dipolog and Dapitan, and the municipalities of Polanco, Pinan, Katipunan, and Rizal.

Although Dapitan serves as the main venue of the Palarong Pambansa, other events will be played in Dipolog, Polanco, and Katipunan.

According to DepEd regional directors who voted for Dapitan City to host this year’s Palarong Pambansa, they have chosen Dapitan for two main reasons – it is a historical place where the national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal spent his
four years in life as an exile, and to spread development in the countryside in terms of sports infrastructures that would be given to the place.

In a related development, this year’s Palarong Pambansa will also instill in the athletes the importance of caring for the environment.

The participating delegations will go green by using recyclable materials – the use of Styrofoam in packaging foods is strictly prohibited.

As this developed, the Region 12 or the Cotabato Regional Athletic Association (CRAA) delegation in the Palarong Pambansa 2011 has saved over P200,000 from its budget for the national games with the implementation of DepEd’s “no plastic policy.”

The policy, which is provided for under DepEd Order No. 97, bans the use of disposable plastic and Styrofoam food containers during the week-long Palarong Pambansa, which formally opened Sunday.

Dr. Allan Farnazo, DepEd-12 assistant regional director, said the huge savings came after they decided to use a reusable food container worth P52 each for the whole duration of the national sports event.

The education official said the DepEd order mainly intends to implement eco-friendly practices during the games as part of its “green” campaign.

“If we will use disposable food containers, the accumulated wastes from all delegations would be about half a hectare by the time the games end,” he explained.

According to the DepEd order, some of the eco-friendly measures that are being implemented include the adoption of waste segregation schemes in the athlete’s quarters and all game venues.

Any team that will be caught violating the order will face penalties in the form of deductions in their scores during the games.

“Palarong Pambansa is the best venue for us to inculcate environmental consciousness, not only among the athletes but also for our residents,” Farnazo said. (With a report from PNA)

source: http://mb.com.ph