Manila: The bulk of the 67-member Philippine delegation to the 2025 Asian Youth Para Games is set to depart for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday. The group comprises athletes and officials participating in various sports, including archery, athletics, boccia, goalball, powerlifting, swimming, and table tennis, as announced by the Philippine Sports Commission in a recent news release.
According to Philippines News Agency, the remaining athletes and coaches in wheelchair and 3x3 basketball, as well as badminton, will follow the next day. Team Philippines will field 48 athletes across several disciplines, with specific entries in goalball (six each in the men's and women's divisions), athletics (10), swimming (7), powerlifting (4), table tennis (4), wheelchair basketball (4), badminton (3), boccia (2), and archery (2).
Leading the delegation is Milette Santiago-Bonoan, an official from the Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled-Philippine Paralympic Committee (Philspada-PPC). She will be joined by president Michael Barredo and secretary-general Goody Custodio. The upcoming 5th edition of the tournament will see participation from approximately 1,500 athletes representing 35 countries, with events scheduled to take place from December 10 to 14. Initial classifications are set for December 7 to 9, followed by the opening ceremony on December 10.
The Philippines aims to surpass its achievements from the 2021 Games held in Manama, Bahrain, where it secured a gold medal through swimmer Ariel Joseph Alegarbes, along with six silver and two bronze medals. Alegarbes has since excelled in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Para Games and participated in the World Para Swimming Championships this year.
Other notable medalists from the previous games include Ronn Russell Mitra and Daniel Enderes Jr. in athletics, 2023 ASEAN Para Games champion swimmers Angel Otom and Gary Bejino, and table tennis players Linard Sultan and Mary Eloise Sable, who both earned medals at the International Table Tennis Federation World Para Future Tournament in Chinese Taipei last June.
