BEGINNING this 10th of September until the 10th of October, barangay officials in the city of Baguio, both elected and appointed, will have the opportunity to unwind from their work by participating in various sporting events and activities lined up in their Palarong Pambarangay 2022.
It has been almost two and a half years since the last Palaro of Barangay officials was held way back in 2019. During that sporting activity, when the COVID 19 pandemic was not yet around, major events that required a large number of barangay officials to participate were the main attraction. This included team basketball, volleyball, and bowling where barangay districts were required to field numerous barangay officials as players to these events. However the Palarong Pambarangay that will be conducted this year will not have the standard basketball event and instead will have a modified category of a basketball free throw competition and a three-point shootout. The event of volleyball and bowling will not also be included in this year’s Palaro but other new sporting activities will take their place such as shot put, table tennis (ping-pong), badminton, and Zumba dance competition, apart from the other regular sporting events like chess, darts, and billiards.
Aware as they are of the need to serve their barangay constituents, the barangay officials represented by their barangay district coordinators and the officers of the LIGA ng mga Barangay board, agreed to hold their Palarong Pambarangay activities on weekends, particularly during Saturdays and Sundays so that they can concentrate on their work as public servants during weekdays.
Thus their schedule of sporting events are as follows: Shotput will be on September 10 and 11, 2022 with the venue at the Athletic Bowl in Burnham Park and will require the participation of two male barangay officials and two female barangay officials from each barangay district; badminton will be first held at the covered court of Engineer’s Hill Barangay on September 10 and 11, 2022 ( also the venue for the official launching of the Palarong Pambarangay 2022) and will later transfer to the covered court of DPS compound barangay on September 17 and 18, 2022 with the participation of two male barangay officials and two female barangay officials from each barangay district; the darts event shall commence on September 17 and 18, 2022 at the Central Point dart place along Abanao Street to be participated in by four barangay officials (men/women) from each district; the table tennis event (ping-pong) will start on September 17 and 18, 2022 and continue on September 24 and 25, 2002 at the City Sports Office at the Athletic Bowl and to be participated in by a maximum of four barangay officials per district with two men and two women engaging in a doubles event; chess meanwhile shall use as venue the barangay hall of Punong Barangay Arnold P. Alimbuyao at T. Alonzo barangay on September 17 and 18 and on September 24 and 25, 2022 to be participated in by four barangay officials (men/women) from each district; billiards on the other hand will still have to wait for a venue but is scheduled to be conducted on September 17 and 18 and on September 24 and 25 as well with four barangay officials per district as participants for the singles and doubles event; the basketball event of free throw and three-point shootout will be held on September 24 and 25, 2022 respectively at the covered court in Military Cut-Off Barangay with six barangay officials from each district as participants; and finally the zumba dance competition will be held on October 10, 2022 with four districts competing in the finals ( the elimination stage shall be done via video recorded zumba presentations by the districts [from September 1 to September 23, 2022] to select the final four district zumba competitors) and during the occasion of the Barangay Day celebration.
Preparations are already underway for most of the events and will see the barangay officials engaging in friendly sports competitions to further develop their camaraderie and unity as they unwind from their hectic work schedule in the barangays.
