MANILA, 20 June 2003 — President Arroyo remains firm that Tubod, Lanao del Norte, should get to host the much-delayed 2003 Palarong Pambansa.

Arroyo said she had no intention of pulling the Palaro out of Tubod although she did not give a new playdate for the student Games that had been shelved indefinitely due to the shaky peace and order situation in Mindanao.

“It will be here, it will be in Tubod,” said the Chief Executive, who was holding office in Mindanao. “As to when, it will all...depend...But I’m not putting it anywhere else. Whenever it will be, it will still be in Tubod.”

Arroyo said the 2003 Palaro’s staging after two postponements this year would depend on several factors, including the cooperation of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and other third-party saboteurs.

“I have the confidence that they (MILF) will not do anything (to disrupt the Palaro). But sad to say, there are third forces who don’t want the peace talks to succeed, who don’t want my administration to succeed,” she said.

The President did not elaborate but stressed the safety of the participants, mostly schoolchildren, remains on top their priorities.

The 2003 Palaro was originally set May in Tubod but had to be postponed indefinitely after violence erupted in nearby towns in Lanao del Norte and other parts of Mindanao.

PSC Ready to Finance

SEAG Athletes

The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) gave assurance the government is ready to finance even a big delegation to the 2003 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam but on condition every athlete in the team is qualified to go.

PSC executive director Ed Mateo said the PSC considers the SEA Games as a “competition and not just an exposure event,” thus the need to make sure all the delegates have met the criteria for their inclusion.

He also hinted the possibility of the PSC financing only the trips of “qualified athletes” and let the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) take care of the rest.

Earlier, POC technical commission head Steve Hontiveros and chief of mission Julian Camacho said the Olympic body is “maximizing” the Philippines’ participation in Vietnam, with over 400 athletes expected to make the team, some of them for “exposure.”

Granger Scores Another

Bowling Win

Purvis Granger did the Philippines proud again after winning the Manila leg of the Aviva Asian Bowling Tour at the Pearl Plaza Center in Para?aque.

The national team mentor subdued Malaysian Azidi Bin Amerran in the finals 245-229 to pocket the top purse at stake.

It also put Granger on course of retaining the ABT Grand Slam title he won at the expense of Duane Camacho of Guam in Singapore at the end of the six-leg, Asian ranking tournament featuring the best bowlers from the region..

Granger more than made up for the disappointing 208-226 loss of Cecilia Yap to Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia in the ladies final. Yap earlier downed Alice Tay of Singapore 203-183 in their semifinal match, but just couldn’t sustain her form come the championship game.

Absolute Charmer

Reigns Supreme

Absolute Charmer, ridden magnificently by ace Manolito F. Daquis, blitzed the field in the final 700 meters to rule the second leg of the Philracom imported Stakes series at the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite.Sent off as the slight favorite in the lean five-horse field, the three-year-old New Zealand-born filly came back from the end of the pack with a run that was nothing short of phenomenal, ruling the 450,000 pesos event with plenty to spare.

Daquis pushed the right buttons at the right time, wheeling Absolute Charmer into contention after the second bend before coming up with the mid-race onslaught that left the field eating her dust. She timed an impressive 1:27 for the 1,400-meter race under overcast skies.

Second choice Audrey’s Savings, who cornered 246,834 pesos out of the total pool of 995,950 pesos, stalked early leader You Know That until the back stretch before fading out of the fight in the next furlong and giving way to the overpowering finish of Absolute Charmer.

Arcilla Captures Title

in Lhuillier Netfest

Top seed Johnny Arcilla of Air Force displayed his brilliant form to claim the 200,000 pesos first leg of the Cebuana Lhuillier Tennis Circuit at the Manila Polo Club Indoor court.

Arcilla, relying on his powerful forehand, clobbered third seed Adelo Abadia, 6-2, 6-1, to bag his fourth consecutive title this year.

Arcilla, champion in Bohol, Mandaue and Subic, received the champion’s purse worth 30,000 pesos in cash and a trophy.

Abadia tried to put up a gallant stand against the country’s No. 1 player but to no avail. Abadia led 2-1 in the first set before Arcilla fought back to wrap up the set after 48 minutes.

Rubillar Is Top

World Challenger

Light-flyweight Juanito Rubillar of the Bebot Elorde Stable leads the short list of Filipinos who made it into the top ten of the World Boxing Council (WBC) ratings for May 2003.

From its headquarters in Mexico City, the WBC listed Rubillar as the top contender in the 108-lb class ruled by Jorge Arce of Mexico. Two years ago, Arce and Rubillar had fought in Tijuana with the Mexican being forced to go 12 rounds to retain his title. Also making the elite 10 are super-featherweight Randy Suico, the reigning Orient-Pacific Boxing Federation champion at No. 3; former WBC fly ruler Malcolm Tunacao at No. 4 in the super-fly category; and the minimumweight duo of Heriberto Gijon and Rodel Mayol, at No. 3 and No. 4.

Outside the top 10, but are still worthy challengers include lightweight Dennis Laurente at No. 12; light-flys Marvin Tampus (No. 12), Joma Gamboa (14) and Arman dela Cruz (15); minimumweights Noel Tunacao (13) and Ernesto Rubillar (15); and ex-Oriental welter king Rev Santillan (16).

Rizal Stadium Fit to

Host Asian Trackfest

The vintage Rizal Memorial track and field stadium is still fit to host the Asian championships in September, according to a top official of an international athletics group.

International Amateur Athletics Federation vice president Dr. Helmut Diegel made the assessment after conducting an ocular inspection of the 70-year-old stadium.

He said the track oval, which was last refurbished in 1993 also for the Asian championships, is still in good condition although it needs to have repair works and re-painting for the meet which is expected to lure 1,000 foreign athletes and officials.

The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) earlier estimated the renovation to cost at least 30 million pesos, including the track and the giant electronic scoreboard which has not been functioning for years.