The 2015 Palarong Pambansa was the 58th edition of the annual multi-sporting event for Filipino student-athletes. The games were held in Tagum, Davao del Norte from 3 to 9 May 2015. This is the first hosting of the Province of Davao del Norte, 60 years after it hosted the Palarong Pambansa as part of the larger Davao province. Tagum hosts most of the venues and billeting centers while the municipalities of Carmen, Sto. Tomas, New Corella, and Kapalong, and the cities of Panabo and Samal Island provided additional billeting centers and venues for the delegates. The events were mostly held within the Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex, including the opening and closing ceremonies.
A total of 26 sports disciplines were contested during the Palaro, 17 of them as regular games, 5 as demonstration games, and 4 as special games for athletes with special needs. For the first time, beach volleyball was played as a demonstration sport.
The Provincial Government of Davao del Norte spent three years preparing what they promised to be "the best Palaro ever." This included the construction of a redesigned Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex according to international standards.
The opening ceremony was on the second day of the games on 4 May while the closing ceremony was held on 9 May.
The National Capital Regional Athletic Association bagged its 11th straight championship title after seven days of sports competitions.
Bidding After Luzon and Visayas have hosted the two previous Palarong Pambansa competitions in Laguna and Negros Oriental respectively, the next host province for the 2015 games will now come from the island of Mindanao, according to the Palarong Pambansa Law. At least five bids were made for the 2015 Palarong Pambansa: Koronadal, South Cotabato (which hosted the 1996 and 2007 Palaro), Tagum, Davao del Norte (its first time), Tubod, Lanao del Norte (which hosted the 2003 Palaro) and Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte (which hosted the 1982 Palaro) made their bids for the games. Surigao del Norte and Butuan also made a joint bid together to host the games; Agusan del Norte was initially part of the joint bid of Surigao del Norte and Butuan. Cagayan de Oro, where the 1988 Palaro was held, also expressed interest to bid for the games but was not included in the final vote for the host.
The Department of Education's Management Committee held a vote at the DepEd Central Office in Pasig, Metro Manila on December 15, 2014 to determine the 2015 hosts. Tagum, Davao del Norte won the bid, receiving a majority vote of 16 out of 18. Provincial Governor Rodolfo P. Del Rosario celebrated the result by assuring the organizers that "we will give them the best Palaro and that will be our battlecry: the best Palaro ever."
2015 Palarong Pambansa bids City Province RegionCagayan de Oro1Misamis OrientalRegion X or Northern MindanaoDipologZamboanga del NorteRegion IX or Zamboanga PeninsulaKoronadalSouth CotabatoRegion XII or SoccsksargenSurigaoButuanSurigao del NorteAgusan del Norte2Region XIII or CaragaTagumDavao del NorteRegion XI or Davao RegionTubodLanao del NorteRegion X or Northern Mindanao
1 – was not included in the final bidding 2 – was initially included in the joint bid of Surigao del Norte and Butuan
Marketing
Logo and branding The logo and theme for the 2015 Palarong Pambansa was unanimously approved and unveiled by the organizing committee on 27 January 2015. The official logo of the 2015 Palarong Pambansa is inspired from the games' theme "Sports: Breaking Borders, Building Peace."
The primary element of the logo is a stylized dove which signifies peace, carrying with it an olive branch with 17 leaves representing the 17 regions of the Philippines. Three flaming tails emerge from the dove which stand for the diversity of the tri-peoples (Lumads or indigenous people, Muslims, and Christians) who participate in the Palarong Pambansa. It is emblazoned with an elaborate okir motif (a traditional artistic motif used by the Islamic tribes), a fish (standing for Christianity), and beadworks of the lumads. The dove also has the outline of the letter P, the first letter of the words "Palarong Pambansa," and the colors of the dove are taken from the Philippine flag.
Below the dove is a banana leaf with the words "Davao del Norte," which represents the chief agricultural produce of the province which is the banana; due to this, Davao del Norte is nicknamed as the "Banana Capital of the Philippines." According to Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo P. Del Rosario, the banana leaf also embodies the resilience of the Dabaonon people, who constantly emerge stronger and better from natural calamities, "just like the ever-enduring banana plant."
Music The official theme song for the 2015 Palarong Pambansa is entitled Palaro ng Pagkakaisa (The Games of Unity), written and composed by Davao-based songwriter and singer Maan Chua, and arranged by Paolo Sisi. The music video for the song was directed by Willie Apa Jr., and featured the DNSTC and several tourist destinations within Davao del Norte, including Samal Island, Talaingod, Christ the King Cathedral in Tagum (the largest Catholic cathedral in the region and houses the largest wooden rosary in the world), and the New City Hall of Tagum. The music video features the national promoters for the games, namely 15-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist in athletics Elma Muros, two-time Olympian in swimming Eric Buhain, and former Azkals player Yannick Tuason, alongside their respective younger counterparts: Mariafe Basong, a runner from the indigenous tribes of Talaingod, Davao del Norte, Roger Porton Jr., a swimmer from Samal Island, and Kier James Macaren, a football player from Davao City.
TV and Radio Advertisements The first TV teaser was shown to the public on 1 March 2015, a one-minute and twenty second TV advertisement with several aerial shots of the DNSTC and archived video footage from previous Palaro games, alongside a forty-second radio advertisement. A month before the games, the official thirty-second TV ad was shown by the media sponsors and through the 2015 Palarong Pambansa website. It features the promoters (Muros, Buhain, and Tuazon) together with their counterparts, similar to that with the music video; this TV advertisement was also directed by Willie Apa Jr.
Participating regions
The 2015 Palarong Pambansa sees all 17 regions of the Philippines participate in the games.
RegionsNo. of ParticipantsCodeRegional Athletic Association NameRegionAthletesOfficialsTotal ARMMAAAutonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Athletic AssociationAutonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao CARAACordillera Administrative Region Athletic AssociationCordillera Administrative Region NCRAANational Capital Region Athletic AssociationNational Capital Region RIAARegion I Athletic AssociationRegion I or Ilocos Region CaVRAACagayan Valley Regional Athletic AssociationRegion II or Cagayan Valley CLRAACentral Luzon Regional Athletic AssociationRegion III or Central Luzon STCAASouthern Tagalog - Calabarzon Athletic AssociationRegion IV-A or Southern Tagalog – Calabarzon MRAAMimaropa Regional Athletic AssociationRegion IV-B or Southern Tagalog – Mimaropa BRAABicol Regional Athletic AssociationRegion V or Bicol Region WVRAAWestern Visayas Regional Athletic AssociationRegion VI or Western Visayas CVRAACentral Visayas Regional Athletic AssociationRegion VII Central Visayas EVRAAEastern Visayas Regional Athletic AssociationRegion VIII or Eastern Visayas ZPRAAZamboanga Peninsula Regional Athletic AssociationRegion IX or Zamboanga Peninsula NMRAANorthern Mindanao Regional Athletic AssociationRegion X or Northern Mindanao DavRAADavao Regional Athletic AssociationRegion XI or Davao Region SRAASoccsksargen Regional Athletic AssociationRegion XII or Soccsksargen CARAGARAACaraga Regional Athletic AssociationRegion XIII or Caraga
Venues
At least 27 venues were named for the games including venues to be used for demonstration sports and the Special Games. Majority of the venues are within the limits of the city of Tagum and are played within the Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex. The gymnastics event was conducted in Panabo City while one of the venues for the demonstration sport of beach volleyball was in Samal Island.
Billeting Centers
Several public elementary and secondary schools within Tagum and surrounding cities and municipalities within Davao del Norte were selected as billeting and housing centers for the delegates, and schools within close proximity with each other housed the same region.
Billeting Centers for Regional DelegatesRegionBilleting CenterAddress ARMMAAJose Tuazon Jr. Memorial National High SchoolMadaum, TagumMadaum Elementary School CARAALa Filipina National High SchoolLa Filipina, TagumLa Filipina Elementary School NCRAAMangga Elementary SchoolMangga, Visayan Village, TagumApokon Elementary SchoolApokon, Tagum RIAAMagugpo Pilot Central Elementary SchoolSobrecarey corner Mabini Sts., Magugpo Central, Tagum CaVRAAMagugpo Pilot Imelda Elementary SchoolSobrecarey St., Magugpo Central, Tagum CLRAAPanabo National High SchoolGredu, Panabo City STCAARizal Elementary SchoolSobrecarey St., Magugpo Central, Tagum MRAASto. Tomas Central Elementary SchoolTibal-og, Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte BRAAUniversity of Mindanao Tagum CollegeArellano St., Magugpo Central, Tagum WVRAACarmen National High SchoolNational Highway, Poblacion, Carmen, Davao del NorteCarmen Central Elementary School CVRAADon Ricardo Briz Central Elementary SchoolBriz District, Magugpo East, TagumBethel UCCP Learning CenterMabini St., Magugpo Central, Tagum EVRAANew Corella National High SchoolPoblacion, New Corella, Davao del NorteNew Corella Central Elementary School ZPRAALaureta Elementary SchoolSan Miguel, TagumLaureta National High School NMRAAPanabo Central Elementary SchoolNational Highway, San Francisco, Panabo City DavRAATagum City National Comprehensive High SchoolMankilam, Tagum SRAATagum City National High SchoolMangga, Visayan Village, Tagum CARAGARAAManiki Central Elementary SchoolManiki, Kapalong, Davao del Norte
Billeting Centers for Technical OfficialsBilleting CenterAddressTagum National Trade SchoolApokon, TagumVisayan Village Elementary SchoolNational Highway, Visayan Village, TagumMankilam Elementary SchoolNational Highway, Mankilam, TagumUnion Elementary SchoolSt. Mary's CollegeNational Highway, Magugpo East, TagumGredu Elementary SchoolNational Highway, Gredu, Panabo City
Media and Telecommunications ABS-CBN, GMA, TV5, CNN Philippines. Rappler, PTV Sports, UNTV, and several other national news organizations covered the games through their regional news bureaus, as well as local and regional news agencies throughout Tagum and the Davao Region such as FM/AM stations and local television channels.
This is the first Palarong Pambansa to have a daily live video broadcast of all major events, including the opening and closing ceremonies, and sporting competitions; these were shown in the Palarong Pambansa 2015 official website, SkyCable Tagum Channel 12/SkyCable Manila Channel 85 (Digital, also on Destiny Cable) for subscribers in Mega Manila, and Rappler. In addition, the Davao del Norte Provincial Information Office also created several social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram) and the social media hashtags #DavNorPalaro2015 and #SeeYouInDavNor dedicated to promote the 2015 Palarong Pambansa and the host province of Davao del Norte.
In free TV, the highlights and closing ceremonies was aired on PTV Sports, Sky Cable Channel 85 (Mega Manila; from May 11–17, 2015) and ABS-CBN Sports+Action, where a one-hour TV special hosted by TJ Manotoc and Tina Marasigan will also be shown on May 30.