Welcome Palaro delegates!

Palarong Pambansa 2005, of which Iloilo (city and province) is host, will officially open this coming Sunday, May 8. Around 8,000 delegates from the country's 17 regions are here for the weeklong sports competition.

Education as well as local government officials are making sure that the delegates are well-accommodated and secured in their respective billeting areas.

There would be City Councilors and local government units assigned to take charge of every billeting school to ensure that the needs of the delegates will be attended to.

High police visibility would be imposed not only on the venues of the sports events but in the billeting areas as well.

The Iloilo Sports Complex has been refurbished for the event to show to our visitors that we are indeed capable of hosting the Palaro.

The provincial government has even extended financial assistance to the tune of P3.25 million to the Department of Education (DepEd) to help pay for the services of technical officials. A clear indication that the Ilonggos are fully supportive of the school based sports competition.

After fourteen years Iloilo is again the lucky host to this nationwide sports competition.

Indeed, being host to this big event is beneficial for the city in terms of economic and tourism upliftment. Incidentally this year's Palaro theme is centered on sports tourism.

This would be the best time for us Ilonggos to show to people from other regions our worth. Let us prove to them how hospitable we are in our own simple way.

Hopefully, in their short stay here in our place people from other regions would also be able to get acquainted with our tourism potentials. That when they come back to their own places they would be able to share to others the good experience they had here in Iloilo.