Paranaque to host NCR Palaro after 20 years

Parañaque City Mayor Edwin L. Olivarez on Thursday, September 18, led the formal launching of the 2015 National Capital Region Palaro which Parañaque will be hosting in February next year – more than 20 years after the regional games were last held in the city.

The launching ceremony was held at the Sinulog Room of the Blue Leaf events place along Macapagal Avenue at the ASEANA Business Park in Parañaque where the mayor also unveiled the official 2015 NCR Palarong Pangrehiyon logo, mascot and jingle.

“The last NCR Palaro in Parañaque was held way back in 1994 when my father, Dr. Pablo Olivarez, was mayor of the then municipality of Parañaque,” the current Mayor Olivarez said. “Parañaque has since gone a long way, but our love and support for sports remains steadfast.”

“Indeed, it is my personal honor to play host to the NCR Palaro in 2015, and the city government will leave no stone unturned to make sure that this annual sporting competition for our youth from all over Metro Manila is a big success,” the mayor added.

Mayor Olivarez is himself an accomplished sportsman. A former national tennis player, he was also an NCAA Junior and Senior Tennis Champion during his student days and is presently president of the Philippine Tennis Association.

Among those invited to the launching of the NCR Palaro 2015 were all the mayors of Metro Manila as well as ranking officials of the Department of Education National Capital Region.

Under Mayor Edwin Olivarez, who assumed office only in 2013, Parañaque City has witnessed vast improvements in the delivery of basic social services and public infrastructure, making it an attractive destination for businesses and investments as well as a choice venue for entertainment, leisure, sports and tourism.

Last month, Parañaque was named the country’s most economically dynamic city in the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index 2014, a project of the National Competitiveness Council, the Department of Trade and Industry and USAID.