PBBM to Palaro Athletes: Make Country Proud

LAOAG CITY — With no  less than  President Ferdinand R. Marcos and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz in attendance,  the 65th Palarong Pambansa formally  opened at the Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium here Saturday.“Ngayong araw, dito sa Palarong Pambansa kayo ang kasali. Sa susunod, kayo na ang kinatawan ng Pilipinas sa Asian Games, sa Olympics.  Kaya paghusayan ninyo,” President Marcos told more than 15,000 student-athletes and officials  from all over the country during his inspirational remarks  kicking off the week-long competition organized by the Department of Education  in cooperation with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Local Government of Laoag.

President Marcos  cited  world-class Filipino athletes who made the country proud, including  Diaz, the Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting (Tokyo 2020); Manny Pacquiao, an eight-division world boxing  champion;  Carlos Yulo, two-time  Olympic gymnastics champion  (Paris 2024);  Nesthy Petecio, Olympic boxing silver medalist (Tokyo 2020);EJ Obiena, Asian  pole vault record-holder and world medalist; and Alex Eala, junior grand clam champion and now professional tennis player.

“Malay natin dito sa mga kasama natin na ito, mayroon diyang lilitaw na Manny Pacquiao, Hidilyn Diaz, Carlos Yulo, Aira Villegas, Nesthy Petecio, EJ Obiena o Alex Eala. Tulad nila, ipagpatuloy niyo ang inyong mga pangarap  — mag-training araw-araw, mag-aral nang mabuti, sumunod lagi  sa mga magulang at alagaan ang kalusugan,” added Marcos.

On Diaz, President Marcos thanked the country’s first Olympic gold medalist.
“Idol Hidilyn, mabuhay ka, Malaki ang dangal na dinala mo sa ating minamahal na bansa.”

President Marcos also assured  student-athletes that the government will continue to provide better training facilities, scholarships, health programs, and sports science support, all designed to help them reach their full potential.

“Hangga’t sa abot ng aming makakaya, ginagawa po namin ang lahat para matulungan kayong maging mahusay na manlalaro,” said President Marcos,whose  “Bagong Pilipinas” vision whose youth empowerment through sports  remains top priority.

The country’s chief executive  stressed that winning is not solely about medals but about building character.

“Higit sa pagkapanalo, mas mahalagang matutunan ninyo ang disiplina, ang halaga ng pakikipagkaibigan, at ang mag-enjoy naman sa inyong favorite sport–manalo man o matalo,”

He also encouraged the youth to embrace resilience and perseverance in the face of setbacks and to overcome challenges.

“Tandaan ninyo: Ang taong lumalaban, hindi natatalo. Losers are those who fail to try. Winners are those who try, and maybe they fail, but then, they try again and do not stop trying until they win and succeed,” he said.

Meanwhile, the first gold medal will be awarded in athletics, starting with the 3,000-meter run (secondary girls finals), followed by the long jump (elementary boys), javelin throw (elementary girls finals), and long jump (secondary boys finals).President Ferdinand “BongBong” Marcos Jr, Photo courtesy to Presidential Communications Office Facebook page.