CEBU CITY. – Ilocos Norte Gov. Matthew Manotoc, whose province has been awarded the right to host the 2025 Palarong Pambansa, has acknowledged that Cebu City would be a hard act to follow.
“Cebu City is very experienced in hosting events so hopefully we can match and keep up the standard set by Cebu City,” Manotoc said last Monday in an impromptu press conference on the eve of the meet’s closing rites Tuesday.
Manotoc will be given the Palaro colors during the turnover segment of the closing rites where Vice President Sara Duterte, who skipped last week’s opening graced by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is scheduled to attend.
The nephew of the Chief Executive’s son was impressed by what Cebu City has done after visiting some of the competition venues, adding that he brought his IT and media chiefs to do a benchmarking of what the host did.
“Obviously, ours will be not the same but we will make sure everyone is comfortable and complies with sporting standard when we host it. With the help of DepEd and the private sector, we hope to host a successful Palaro,” the governor said.
“It will be a different Palaro in terms of size and infrastructure and but we will be able to do it in our own way to ensure that the standards are met in staging the meet,” he stressed.
The main hub of activity, he said, will be the President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Stadium and the adjacent Olympic-size swimming pool in Laoag City where his uncle, Michael Keon, is the mayor.
“Everything is on track and the President Marcos Stadium will be our main hub in Laoag City with one or two neighboring cities helping to host the event,” he said.
Hosting the national meet for student athletes, Manotoc said, is part of their bid to make the province a major sports tourism hub in Northern Luzon.
“We always say we are far but we are worth it. We are the only province that can offer you a slice of Boracay, a slice of Baguio and a slice of Dubai all in one province,” he said.
