STA. CRUZ, Laguna. The province of Laguna was honored with a 1.5 million cash incentive from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for its remarkable achievement in the 2022 Philippine Youth Games – Batang Pinoy National Championships, held in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur from December 17 to 21, 2022. Laguna secured the 4th position overall in the official medal tally.
During the provincial government’s weekly flag-raising ceremony last July 31, 2023, at the provincial capitol, Mr. Mario C. Tobias, In-Charge of Office for the Provincial Sports and Games Development Office (PSGDO), presented the prestigious award to Governor Ramil L. Hernandez and Provincial Administrator Atty. Dulce H. Rebanal.
Laguna’s delegation, consisting of 99 talented athletes competing in 11 sports disciplines, exhibited outstanding performance, resulting in a total of 51 medals, including 20 gold, 15 silver, and 16 bronze. The overall championship was secured by Baguio City, with Pasig City in second place, and Quezon City in third. Iloilo City ranked 5th. Notably, more than 80 cities and provinces actively participated in the 2022 national finals.
It is worth mentioning that despite the challenges posed by the pandemic on sports development within the province, Laguna stood out and emerged as the only province to break into the Top 5 of the Batang Pinoy rankings. This marks the third time that Laguna has received cash incentives from the PSC for its exceptional performance in the Batang Pinoy’s medal tally.
The Batang Pinoy is an annual national grassroots program organized by the PSC in collaboration with the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), targeting in-school and out-of-school youth aged 15 years old and below, with the aim of promoting sports development at the grassroots level.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
