IMAGINE a Team Philippines composed of 50 all-female athletes proudly clad in white Barong Tagalog, smiling and waving Philippine flaglets as they march around the 60,000-seat Morodok Techo Stadium in Phnom Penh during the parade of nations of the opening ceremony of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games next Friday.
Unprecedented in SEA Games history.
“This will be a first in SEA Games history as Team Philippines will be represented by an all-women delegation in the parade,” Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said on Friday.
Only three men from Team Philippines will join the Filipina athletes—Tolentino, chef de mission Chito Loyzaga and the flag bearer whose identity would be revealed a few days before opening.
They will be wearing Francis Libiran-designed white barongs over black pants.
The Cambodia SEA Games Organizing Committee (Camsoc), according to Tolentino, set a limit of 50 athletes for each nation during the traditional parade of athletes.
Fashion icon Libiran named his barong creation for the 32nd SEA Games “Araw.”
The Francis Libiran Araw Barong Tagalog is made out of Philippine jusi fabric and materials and features an intricate embroidery of the Philippine flag.
The hues of blue overlap a small bed of red as the sun and its rays encompass the entirety of the sash to truly represent every Filipino, showing off their liberty, peace and valor.
Libiran also designed the barong worn by Filipino athletes in the 2019 Philippine SEA Games as well as last year in Hanoi where he named his masterpiece “Agila” that had intricate embroidery with an art deco of the Philippine eagle.
Team Philippines is composed of 840 athletes who will compete in 38 of the 40 sports programmed by Cambodia, a first-time SEA Games host.
Already in Cambodia are athletes in windsurfing, chess and cricket. On Saturday, teams in hockey, triathlon and volleyball and support staff from the Philippine Sports Commission are leaving for Phnom Penh.
Members of Team Philippines are flying to Cambodia on different batches based on their competition schedule with a big bulk of the delegation set to leave for Phnom Penh on May 2.
Chess starts Saturday with the ouk chaktrang, a Cambodian chess variant introduced by the hosts. The country clinched two silver and three bronze medals last year in Hanoi.