GMA launches Palaro ng Batang Lansangan

From now on, Metro Manila’s streetchildren can look forward to the day they won’t have to beg, sell cigarettes and sampaguita garlands on the road, wash cars, or sleep on the pavement.

This was the message delivered yesterday as more than a thousand streetchildren from 17 cities and municipalities in Metro Manila converged at the Rizal Memorial Track and Field oval for the formal launch of the Palaro ng Batang Lansangan with no less than President Arroyo as special guest.

The ambitious program by the Philippine Sports Commission, actually a brainchild of the President in 1998 when she was still Vice President and Secretary of Social Welfare Department, aims to provide opportunities for sports and recreation among streetchildren in the hope of rebuilding their lives.

Local Government Secretary Joey Lina, delivering the inspirational speech in lieu of the President, said the year-long program that will try to get across the nation will "try to get the children out of the streets for their healthy and meaningful existence."

The President, wearing an all-gray attire, arrived at exactly 10 a.m. to the cheers of the streetchildren, whose rowdy behavior at some points of the program gave organizers a big headache. But this was understandable if only due to the fact that they were probably enjoying themselves with the presence of the chief executive, and a festive atmosphere. — Abac Cordero