“Sports do not build character. They reveal it.” –Heywood Broun

There seems to be no real challenges or rivalries among young athletes in the Philippines today. As of this writing, the lead held in the medal count by the National Capital Region (NCR) appears they are poised to wrap up this year’s Palarong Pambansa, taking place in San Jose, Antique.
As the host province, athletes from the Western Visayas Regional Athletics Association (WVRAA) were expected to dominate the annual sporting event, featuring student-athletes from the country’s 18 regions.
However, it’s not about which regional association finishes first, it’s the disparity in the medal tally – and it appears to be an all-NCR show.
This is not a good sign if the event is looking to recruit future members for the Southeast (SEA) Games, the Asian Games, and the Olympics.

Talent
The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), governed by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), should be financing the submission of talent, which ought to be a democratic process and represent a cross-section of the country.
As of April 26, two days before the culmination of the competition, NCS has amassed 50 gold, 27 silver, and 20 bronze medals, against the 14 gold, seven silver, and 11 bronze medals of the would-be runners-up, the Western Visayas.

Haul
Most of the medals earned by NCR came in swimming, with most of their athletes training in world-class or Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The Ilonggos were deadly in track and field, while runners from the Cordillera Administrative Region proved to be head turners.
It looks like the WVRAA, and other regions, need to modify and reinvigorate their grassroots sports programs in swimming and not heavily focus on track and field of ball games.

Objectives
Article XIV, Section 19 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution mandates the conduct of the Palarong Pambansa, with the following objectives:
Physical Education and sports as an integral part of the Basic Education curriculum for holistic development of the youth;
Inculcate the spirit of discipline, teamwork, excellence, fair play, solidarity, sportsmanship, and other values inherent in sports;
Promote and achieve peace by means of sports;
Widen the base for talent identification, selection, recruitment, training and exposure of elementary pupils and secondary students to serve as a feeder to the National Sports Association (NSA) for international competitions; and
Provide a database for a valid and universal basis to further improve the school sports development programs./WDJ