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PASIG CITY, February 07, 2023 – The Department of Education (DepEd) announced the conduct of the 2023 Palarong Pambansa from July 29 to August 5, 2023 in Marikina City, nearly three years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation.

The local government unit (LGU) of Marikina City, DepEd-National Capital Region (NCR) Office, and the Schools Division Office (SDO) of Marikina City are set to host this year’s edition of the scholastic multi-sport competition.

According to DepEd Memorandum No. 5, s. 2023 or the Conduct of the 2023 Palarong Pambansa, Division Meets and Regional Meets shall be conducted on February 6-10 and April 24-28, respectively, as recommended by the Palarong Pambansa Secretariat.

Moreover, an additional tier called the Pre-National Qualifying Meet will be introduced 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.

As such, the said new level will only feature team sports such as baseball, basketball, football, futsal, sepak takraw, football, and volleyball.

Under the new tier, delegations will be clustered into four groups based on their geographical location. Cluster 1 is comprised of the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); Cluster 2 is CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, NCR, and Bicol Region; Cluster 3 is Western, Central, and Eastern Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula Region; and Cluster 4 is Northern Mindanao, Davao, SOCCKSARGEN, CARAGA, and BARMM.

The top two regional delegations per cluster will then advance to the actual Palarong Pambansa event.

The modified competition format aims to prevent the disruption of classes and to observe minimum public health and safety protocols as stated in DepEd Order No. 34, s. 2022, and other relevant policies and guidelines issued.

Measurable sports such as athletics, swimming, and archery will adopt the qualifying distance, time, and points set by the Palarong Pambansa. Other sports that do not apply qualifying standards in the selection of athletes and are not identified as team sports will advance directly to the Palarong Pambansa culminating competitions.

Aside from student-athletes from the 17 DepEd regional athletic associations, Filipino athletes enrolled in recognized schools overseas will also be allowed to compete in individual sports under the banner of Philippine Schools Overseas (PSOs).

Meanwhile, a separate memorandum will soon be issued regarding the technical guidelines of all sports to be played, as provided in Section 27, Rule VI of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 10588 otherwise known as the Palarong Pambansa Act of 2013.

For more details on the 2023 edition of the Palarong Pambansa, please visit https://bit.ly/2023-palarong-pambansa.

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