• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Members of the indigenous peoples (IPs) from Isabela won the top prize in three of the 10 traditional games contested during the IP Games Visayas Leg 2024, hosted by the city government of Bago, over the weekend.
Results released by the city Sept. 29 showed that the Isabela IPs bagged the first place in bayo gisig, galing mais, and pana.
Other winners were, for palo sebo, Silay City, followed by Himamaylan City and Calatrava; trompo, Sagay City, followed by Talisay City and Sipalay City; panit-lubi, Calatrava, with Kabankalan City and Silay City in second and third place; bayo gisig, Don Salvador Benedicto – second and Calatrava in third place;
Tumba patis, Sipalay City, with Bago City in second spot then Cauayan, third; kadang, Binalbagan, followed by Silay City then Kabankalan City; galing mais, Don Salvador Benedicto in second and Cauayan, third; bangkaw, Don Salvador Benedicto, followed by Cadiz City then Calatrava; pana, Calatrava in second then Binalbagan; and fire-making, Hinoba-an in first place, followed by Isabela, then Don Salvador Benedicto.
The IP Games, initiated by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), in partnership with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Bago LGU as host, gathered around 300 IP members from the 17 towns and cities of Negros Occidental.
“This is the PSC’s way of taking good care of the welfare of our aspiring athletes coming from the minorities. It is among our top priority to deliver the value of sports in taking up a genuine cause for our IP communities,” PSC chairman Richard Bachmann said in a statement Sept. 29.
Bachmann, who led the opening ceremony Sept. 28 at the Manuel Y. Torres Sports Center in the city’s Barangay Balingasag, said that the PSC’s “task to bring the spirit of sports to all members of society is among our top priorities, in line with the mandate of promoting a healthy citizenry and an inclusive landscape for promoting the value of physical wellness.”
Mayor Nicholas Yulo had said he is happy that Bago City was chosen to host the Visayas Leg of the IP Games this year.
“It’s an honor to welcome all our participants here in Bago,” he said. “I am also happy that the national and local governments are acknowledging and recognizing the members of our IP communities.” The participating IPs come from tribes from Binalbagan, Cadiz City, Calatrava, Candoni, Cauayan, Don Salvador Benedicto, Himamaylan City, Hinoba-an, Ilog, Isabela, Kabankalan City, Sagay City, San Carlos City, Silay City, Sipalay City, Talisay City, and host city Bago. | CGC
