Naga City — DepED Undersecretary Fe Hidalgo stressed Saturday that the 2006 Palarong Pambansa will serve as the springboard of the joint DepEd-Philippine Sports Commission National Unified Sports Program for the youth.

        In a press conference with local and national media, Hidalgo said that they will be looking for the potentials to be developed in this Palaro in partnership with relevant national government agencies, like the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Commission on Higher Education.

        “We cannot ignore the fact that the potentials are from this games and we want them to be developed for international competitions”, she said.

        PSC Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez also agreed believing that “the basic physical development starts here and sports education must be strengthened in this level”.

        In this year’s Palaro, DepEd will be backed-up by the PSC as far as the technical aspect is concerned.

        Under the NUSP, athletes will be identified early, and focus on their potentials. Part of the NUSP is to develop excellent athletes. “We have the talents and resources while sports people are active and doing what needs to be done,” Hidalgo added.

        It was noted before that even potential athletes were identified by the DepEd no continuity on their development.

        Despite the focus on sports development, Hidalgo emphasized that academics will be given more importance due to the fact that we are lagging behind, compared to other Asian countries.