Too bad for Tubod, Palaro reset

Due to growing security problems, the May 4-11 staging of the Palarong Pambansa in Tubod, Lanao del Norte will most likely be postponed but not cancelled, Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said yesterday.

"I think there will be a postponement because it will be too difficult for us to let our players go there in a situation like this," he told dzMM, referring to the latest attack of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels where 16 persons were killed and 20 others injured.

He assured, however, that the event will not be scrapped altogether and denied suggestions that the games will be held in another venue. "The decision here will be postponement and not cancellation. And the venue will still be the same should this games resume."

President Arroyo, he said, is bent on leaving the decision to set another date for the Games to the organizers themselves, because they know very well the security situation in their own area, like as to the possibility of having another attack.

"At tungkol duon sa re-scheduling ipapaubaya na ito ng ating Pangulo duon sa mga organizers. Alam naman nila ang situation duon sa lugar," he said, adding that the government’s peace talks with the MILF will also be stalled anew by this recent attack.

Lanao del Norte Governor Imelda Dimaporo said earlier that based on her talk with President Arroyo, she got the impression that the event will not be called off or even transferred to another place, although she acknowledged that it will be the President herself who will have the final say on the issue.

"I’m not worried about the security of the athletes and officials because I have trust and confidence in the military and the police for the Palaro which they have presented," she said. The idea of other regions backing out due to security problems is her foremost concern, she said.