By ADRIAN STEWART CO

The Department of Education (DepEd) held the 28th Paralympiada 26 in Cadiz City as part of the 52nd Dinagsa Festival, with close to 1,000 student-athletes and delegates from Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor taking part in the annual meet.

The event was welcomed by Cadiz City Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Arlene Bermejo and formally opened by Mayor Salvador Escalante, Jr.

Also present were 2nd District Representative Alfredo “Thirdy” Marañon III and members of the Cadiz City council, along with schools division officials from the participating provinces.

Competitions were held in track and field, parlor games and cultural events for athletes with visual (VI), hearing and intellectual disabilities (ID).

Bacolod City topped the overall standings, followed by Negros Oriental’s Bayawan City in second place and Dumaguete City in third.

Negros Oriental’s Bais City finished fourth, while host Cadiz City placed fifth.

The cities of Silay, Sagay, Himamaylan, and Victorias, all in Negros Occidental, as well as Siquijor, completed the Top 10.

Among the individual winners were Roben Valor of Bayawan in the ID 50-meter dash (boys 15-and-below), Randel Aventura of Bacolod City in the VI 50-meter dash (boys 15-and-below), Eulyn Bantilan of Sagay in the VI 50-meter dash (girls 15-and-below), and Zenjie Combite of Victorias in the ID 100-meter dash (boys 16-and-above).

In team events, Sagay won the tug of war, Himamaylan topped the bocce competition, Silay and Negros Oriental’s Bais City shared first place in the hearing-impaired volleyball event, while Bacolod won the dance competition./ASC, WDJ