Organizers of the Batang Pinoy 2012 National Finals called off the matches in eight sporting events that were due to start today due to the bad weather caused by Typhoon Pablo.

The opening ceremonies, however, pushed through as scheduled yesterday, although the venue was transferred from the Iloilo Sports Complex to the nearby basketball court.

Project Director Jay Alano met yesterday with the tournament directors of the participating contingents and they agreed to have a new schedule for athletics, badminton, basketball, chess, lawn tennis, swimming, table tennis, and taekwondo.

Alano said they have to take into consideration the safety of the participants as the typhoon is expected to hit Iloilo province today. Iloilo City was placed under Signal No. 2 yesterday as “Pablo” hit the northern part of Mindanao.

Meanwhile, the opening ceremony was led by PSC commissioner Jolly Gomez.

Also present were representatives from the 107 local government units who won the gold and silver in the five qualifying legs held in Marikina City, Lingayen, Pangasinan, Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte and Tacloban City

Close to 1,000 athletes were already in Iloilo, but more are expected to arrive as soon as air and sea travel resume.

In Bacolod City, a delegation from Cotabato was stranded at the BREDCO port yesterday after the Philippine Coast Guard cancelled the trips of Iloilo-bound vessels.

Out to defend its title in the Batang Pinoy national finals is the contingent from Laguna, the Southern Luzon leg champion.

Of the 107 participating LGUs, 15 are from the National Capital Region, 30 from Mindanao, 19 from Northern Luzon, 30 from Southern Luzon and 19 from Visayas, including Bacolod City and Negros Occidental contingents.

The POC-PSC Batang Pinoy Games, created for athletes 15 years old and below, aims to identify fresh talents who will be part of the national team for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in China.*with a report from PNA

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