Batang Pinoy 2018 closes amid heavy rains

FILE: BATANG PINOY 2018 CLOSING CEREMONY. Philippine Sports Commissioner Celia Kiram declares the five-day sports event closed on Friday afternoon (September 21, 2018) at the Baguio Athletic Bowl in Burnham Park. (Photo by Primo Agatep via PNA)

BAGUIO CITY — The 2018 Batang Pinoy National Championships has formally closed with a simple but meaningful celebration amid the downpour here on Friday afternoon.

Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Commissioner Celia Kiram, representing Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez, declared the five-day sports competition closed.

Without the formal declaration of the overall winner and top finishers of the meet, Kiram announced that a total of PHP10 million in incentives will be given to local government units (LGUs) that will land in the Top 5.

PSC, organizer of the event , did not announce the winners as results of the final events were still being validated. Twenty eight events were held during the meet.

Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan congratulated the winners and all the athletes for participating and exercising fair play.

He also expressed his gratitude to the officials and countless volunteers, whose efforts contributed to the success of the sports event.

Baguio and Benguet province co-hosted this year’s staging of Batang Pinoy.

Domogan likewise thanked the athletes’ parents and guardians for their support and sacrifices, as well as the PSC,

not only for its financial, sports equipment and other logistical support to the host local governments, but especially for catering to the needs of athletes who numbered almost 7,000 representing 94 LGUs.

Lawyer Noel Ngolob, representing Benguet Governor Crescencio Pacalso, also congratulated the participants as he rallied the country’s youth to sustain their involvement in sports.

Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, who made a special appearance, applauded the athletes for their achievements and commended the PSC for the youth games’ success.

He praised the hosts, Baguio and Benguet, for a “job well done” despite the poor weather throughout the duration of the games.

The mid-afternoon downpour failed to dampen the spirit of the hundreds of spectators during the simple closing ceremony that was marked by a cultural field demonstration by the city’s youth, who also danced to the upbeat Batang Pinoy theme song, “Ikaw ang simula”.

The excited youths’ shouts and loud cheers from the crowd filled the air amid heavy rains.

The closing ceremony ended with the athletes, officials, volunteers, and spectators cheering as some 500 blue and white balloons — blue for peace and unity through sports, and white for the victims of the wrath of Typhoon Ompong in northern Luzon – were released into the air.

“Ompong”, the strongest typhoon to hit the country so far this year, left a trail of destruction when it lashed on northern Luzon.

The typhoon killed at least 81 people with a dozen others reported missing. Most of the deaths were due to landslides in the mountainous Cordillera region.