“To all our athletes competing, your dedication, hard work, and the lessons you will learn along the way are what truly matter. While we hope for your victory, we encourage you not to be disheartened if you cannot stand on the winner’s podium. Your participation alone is a testament to your strength and commitment.”
— MBHTE Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal
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COTABATO CITY (SDN) — Today, Sunday, May 12, marks the first day of competition for over 4,000 young student athletes in the Bangsamoro region.
It’s the second iteration of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Athletic Association (BARMMAA) Meet after the coronavirus pandemic, the first one in 2020. After a lapse of two years, none in 2021 and 2022, the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) revived the regional meet in 2023 as the Philippines’ deadly bout with Covid-19 had eased, life slowly but surely returning to normality.
For the sporting competition, the elementary and high school athletes will compete in 23 sports events, such as Archery, Arnis, Athletics, Badminton, Baseball, Boxing, Chess, Basketball, Billiards, Football, Futsal, Para-Games, Pencak Silat, Sepak Takraw, Softball, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Volleyball, Wrestling, and Wushu.
Related: BARMM 2024 Sporting Competition Kicks Off Tomorrow with Colorful Parade of 7,000 Athletes, School Officials
The Opening Ceremonies here at the Cotabato State University (CSU), along busy Sinsuat Avenue, the city’s main artery, started with a colorful parade of athletes starting from downtown’s City Plaza at around 2 p.m., until they reached the CSU, marching to the Oval with students and other onlookers awaiting the parade’s arrival.
At the head of each delegation was the Drum and Bugle Corps of schools in the city, dancers gyrating to the noisy, inviting beats of drums, pirouetting, their wands twirling.
BARMMAA Meet in 2023 had a kind weather, with overcast sky; strong rains poured in the morning, but as noon time when delegations assembled at the City Plaza, the sky was overcast, a conducive day for the Parade of Athletes.
BARMMAA Meet 2024 is the exact opposite. The sun has been unforgiving at least since April, the burning heat painful on the skin; not a cloud to shield the sun’s rays.
Nevertheless, the show must go on. Saturday’s Parade of Athletes was a most trying time for the athletes and members of delegations as well as onlookers lined up on the route, eager to watch their colorful attires and street performances as they marched along Sinsuat Avenue to the CSU Oval.
Headed by Education Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal, the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) once again organized BARMMAA Meet 2024 in partnership with the Cotabato City local government unit (LGU), and other collaborators.
The BARMMAA Meet is an annual week-long sports event organized by the Bureau of Physical Education and Sports Development (MBHTE-BPESD). It aims to provide opportunities for athletically talented students to showcase their talents in their respective sports.
This year, almost 7,000 delegates (around 4,000 athletes) from the 11 school divisions of Basilan, Lamitan City, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Cotabato City, Special Geographic Area (SGA), Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur I, Lanao del Sur II, and Marawi City are gathered in the city.
Athletes from the elementary and secondary levels of these divisions are competing for pride, glory, and honor, as well as the privilege to represent the Bangsamoro region in the Palarong Pambansa (National Games) 2024.
BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Balawag “Al-Haj Murad” Ebrahim re-affirmed the “regional government’s commitment remains constant in supporting physical education because empowering sports paves the way to achieving a stronger and a more united Bangsamoro.”
“The BARMMAA Meet is just the beginning of your many narratives of success, and we cannot wait to hear your narratives and weigh it as part of our proud Bangsamoro story,” Ebrahim, chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said in a video message.
City Mayor Mohammad Ali “Bruce” Matabalo also had a video message for the delegations, as he stressed the all-out support of his administration in the field of sports.
“Your dedication, hard work, and the lessons you will learn along the way are what truly matter.”
He said in Pilipino, addressing the participants at the CSU Oval, “mas lalo [naming] pinaghandaan at pinaghusayan ang pagiging host LGU sa ikalawang pagkakataon.” (We stepped-up preparation and levelled up our being host LGU for the second time.)
“Give your best, strive for the championship, but please do not forget that the BARMMAA Meet may be a competition, but the end goal is to bring out the best in all of us and unite us as a Bangsa (Nation),” he emphasized.
“You remind us that we are not defined by our struggles but by how we face them and rise again”
Of course, Iqbal was at the stage since before the arrival of the delegations, patiently awaiting their presence along with other MBHTE officials, including Assistant Secretary Sittie Mariam I. Balahim, Director General for Basic Education Abdullah P. Salik, Jr., Director General for Madaris Education Tahir Gandawali-Nalg, Media Unit Head Moby Pandi, and others.
Iqbal, who wears many hats in the Mindanao peace process, underscored that BARMMAA is not just about competition but a profound expression of unity and shared aspirations.
The regional sporting, he pointed out, is “a platform that fosters regional identity and pride through interaction among athletes from various parts of the region.”
He lauded the athletes for their year-long preparation for their respective events.
“To all our athletes competing, your dedication, hard work, and the lessons you will learn along the way are what truly matter. While we hope for your victory, we encourage you not to be disheartened if you cannot stand on the winner’s podium. Your participation alone is a testament to your strength and commitment,” the MBHTE chief said.
According to him, these young athletes represent the spirit of the Bangsamoro people – resilient, tenacious, and unyielding.
“You remind us that we are not defined by our struggles but by how we face them and rise again. You are the personification of our strength and the ambassadors of our vibrant culture and traditions,” Iqbal concluded his message for the athletes.
With the theme “Empowering Sports for a Stronger United Bangsamoro”, the BARMMAA Meet will conclude on May 15 with the announcement of winners.
The Bangsamoro region, established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the Special Geographic Area’s (SGA) 63 barangays or villages that voted “Yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction. With the recent plebiscite at SGA, the BARMM now has eight new municipalities as residents voted “Yes”.
According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities (plus eight newly established under the SGA: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; undivided Maguindanao, 36; Sulu, 19; and Tawi-Tawi, 11. Its component cities are Cotabato (regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur. (✓)